Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 38.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,508 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,100,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in 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 valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mason & Associates Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 3,177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $399,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $0.61 on Wednesday, reaching $139.15. The company had a trading volume of 3,711,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,653,931. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.18 billion, a PE ratio of 17.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $129.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $115.51. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.