Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Sells 153 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $90.83 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.90 and a 200-day moving average of $85.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.