Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Culbertson A N & Co. Inc.

Culbertson A N & Co. Inc. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,039 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Culbertson A N & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,274,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, 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. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:MS opened at $137.78 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $138.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.32%.

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.