Willner & Heller LLC Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Willner & Heller LLC lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,602 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 185 shares during the quarter. Willner & Heller LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $579,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.9% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,713,000 after buying an additional 9,459 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26.7% in the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 3,116 shares during the period. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,093,000 after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 89,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,656,000 after acquiring an additional 3,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 526,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,137,000 after purchasing an additional 8,260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $113.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.40.

About Morgan Stanley

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.