Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 55.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 23,292 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Coppell Advisory Solutions Corp. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

MS stock opened at $90.78 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $147.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.01.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.