AdvisorNet Financial Inc Trims Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AdvisorNet Financial Inc decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $97.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $96.06 and a 200 day moving average of $91.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $157.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. HSBC raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.