Cwm LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cwm LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 120,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,997 shares during the period. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Hoffman & Company LLC. now owns 6,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,175,000 after buying an additional 267 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,214.0% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 136,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,743,000 after buying an additional 126,255 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 1,385,130 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $129,163,000 after acquiring an additional 275,183 shares during the period. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 13,006 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,213,000 after acquiring an additional 1,457 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,355 shares of company stock worth $26,753,102 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $92.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $149.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $85.10.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.