Ieq Capital LLC Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,811 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,213 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Avestar Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded down $3.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $131.33. The stock had a trading volume of 3,551,487 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,464,138. The business has a 50-day moving average of $132.28 and a 200-day moving average of $119.50. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.43 and a one year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $211.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.54, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.