Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s 5th Largest Position

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 21,203 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 3.9% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Charter Oak Capital Management LLC now owns 15,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,011,000 after purchasing an additional 1,776 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,018 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after buying an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 22,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,842,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085 shares in the last quarter. Acorn Creek Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $226,000. Finally, Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:MS opened at $136.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.21, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $139.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $129.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $115.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.