CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,015 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,710 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $115.23 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.61 and a 200-day moving average of $123.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.