FineMark National Bank & Trust Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

FineMark National Bank & Trust reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,734 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,553 shares during the quarter. FineMark National Bank & Trust's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,693,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Modern Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 1,490,558 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $187,393,000 after buying an additional 65,456 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $639,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business'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 transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.23. The company had a trading volume of 7,347,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,527,969. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.59. The company has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

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 company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $131.53.

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.