Welch & Forbes LLC Sells 859 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Welch & Forbes LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 859 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. NBT Bank N A NY grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 136.2% in the third quarter. NBT Bank N A NY now owns 7,042 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 4,060 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.7% during the third quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 6,698 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 647 shares during the last quarter. Gratus Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $205,000. TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,136,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,133,000 after purchasing an additional 349,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smith Salley & Associates purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $973,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $95.46. 1,413,441 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,373,352. The company has a market cap of $155.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.93. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $86.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.