Avior Wealth Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 395 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 238,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,039,000 after acquiring an additional 5,436 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,025.8% in the fourth quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 28,595 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after buying an additional 26,055 shares during the last quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Magnus Financial Group LLC now owns 12,971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,631,000 after buying an additional 1,532 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 300.9% in the fourth quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,295 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $139.04. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $129.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.