Fiduciary Alliance LLC Has $13.13 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Fiduciary Alliance LLC lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSFree Report) by 19.1% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 79,791 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,818 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.8% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Fiduciary Alliance LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fielder Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Fielder Capital Group LLC now owns 4,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $748,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Howard Financial Services LTD. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.6%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $220.14 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $201.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The stock has a market cap of $347.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $135.26 and a 12 month high of $230.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MSGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $179.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Evercore upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.90.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Morgan Stanley

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Profile

(Free Report)

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

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