Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. Sells 17,521 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 443,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 17,521 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.8% of Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,336,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $0.91 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.05. 5,393,711 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,885,919. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.48 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.65 and its 200 day moving average is $84.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.30. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total transaction of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.56, for a total value of $584,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 97,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,158,297.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.66.

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.