Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Aprio Wealth Management LLC

Aprio Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Visionary Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Visionary Wealth Advisors now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $649,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $580,000. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 13,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Europe London LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,638,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $107.51 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The business has a 50-day moving average of $100.41 and a 200-day moving average of $98.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $174.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.06.

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.