Northcape Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 555 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,019,000 after buying an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $140.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $126.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

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.