Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 280,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,203 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 3.9% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 15,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after buying an additional 1,776 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085 shares during the period. Acorn Creek Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $136.63 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $139.04. The firm has a market cap of $220.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $115.04.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley 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.