Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. Has $11.11 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc. cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 88,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 811 shares during the quarter. Lowe Brockenbrough & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after purchasing an additional 5,738 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $120.49 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $130.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $122.69. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $194.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.60.

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.