Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Has $1.77 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 95 shares during the period. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.60.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock opened at $119.94 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $193.45 billion, a PE ratio of 15.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.