Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Has $3.88 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 30,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,112 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $121.66 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $195.18 billion, a PE ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 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 fifty day simple moving average is $114.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 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 company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group increased 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.