Bank of New Hampshire Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bank of New Hampshire decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,857 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 2,692 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.09. 1,932,649 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,693,253. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.57. The company has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.