Yousif Capital Management LLC Sells 8,290 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Yousif Capital Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 185,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 8,290 shares during the quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,343,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.82. The company had a trading volume of 6,392,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,852,011. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $89.22 and its 200-day moving average is $85.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.