Blue Chip Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Blue Chip Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,513 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 3.0% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

MS stock opened at $139.19 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $131.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.67. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $84.41 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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