Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Bank of New Hampshire

Bank of New Hampshire cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,599 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,857 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after buying an additional 1,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $93.09. 1,932,649 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,693,253. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $89.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $85.31. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.