Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC Has $328,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,522 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 218 shares during the period. Paces Ferry Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $328,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 11,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,051,000 after buying an additional 1,635 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 30,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,826,000 after acquiring an additional 2,756 shares during the period. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors now owns 18,133 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,691,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323 shares during the period. Firestone Capital Management acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Certuity LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 203,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,946,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $1.28 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.83. 5,859,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,641,185. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $147.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.76 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $89.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.68.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.