Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC Has $640,000 Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 270 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

MS stock opened at $126.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.52. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $202.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.