Insigneo Advisory Services LLC Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Insigneo Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 40.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,195 shares during the period. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,678,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.20 on Friday, hitting $109.06. 5,231,658 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,655,480. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.36 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $119.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

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.