InterOcean Capital Group LLC Sells 1,022 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

InterOcean Capital Group LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,022 shares during the period. InterOcean Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,105,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $477,765,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,596,000. Finally, Canoe Financial LP increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 239.2% during the 4th quarter. Canoe Financial LP now owns 1,505,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $140,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,349 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of MS traded down $1.23 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $99.51. 889,762 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,089,982. The firm has a market cap of $161.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $93.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 over the last three months. 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.