Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by TD Private Client Wealth LLC

TD Private Client Wealth LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,366 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was 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 owned by company insiders.

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Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $3.03 on Wednesday, reaching $122.17. 5,081,832 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,217,626. The company has a 50-day moving average of $130.57 and a 200-day moving average of $123.51. 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 firm has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.33.

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.