Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 51,786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartline Investment Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartline Investment Corp now owns 25,857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $56,000. Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $112,000. South Dakota Investment Council purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $401,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $830,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $92.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.40.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. 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.