Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Greenwood Capital Associates LLC

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 72,103 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,873 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.2% of Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,065,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $138.31. The stock had a trading volume of 2,689,504 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,123,061. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $141.48. The company's 50-day moving average is $130.16 and its 200 day moving average is $116.67. The company has a market capitalization of $222.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.