Optimum Investment Advisors decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 955 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fulcrum Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $205,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $28,000. Astor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, OLD Second National Bank of Aurora purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $42,000. 83.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $55.86 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $51.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $46.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.58. The stock has a market cap of $90.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.76, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.39. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $38.76 and a 52-week high of $57.57.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $10.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.72 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.70% and a net margin of 16.80%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 27.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.36 earnings per share for the current year.
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.11%.
A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. ValuEngine cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. JMP Securities lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Piper Sandler lowered Morgan Stanley from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $59.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Deutsche Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Odeon Capital Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.42.
In other news, CFO Paul C. Wirth sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.08, for a total value of $1,227,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 146,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,205,729.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Robert P. Rooney sold 51,105 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.13, for a total transaction of $2,510,788.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 183,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,012,800.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 102,105 shares of company stock worth $5,013,869. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.
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. The company operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.
