Concord Asset Management LLC VA Sells 2,274 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,274 shares during the quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,493,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 7,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,669 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $6,025,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $138.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.89 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.