McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 18,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the period. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 115,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,089,000 after acquiring an additional 29,575 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $224,000. Creative Planning increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.6% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 211,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,528,000 after purchasing an additional 41,660 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.8% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 101,929 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,906,000 after buying an additional 3,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $138.49 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $139.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $129.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $115.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 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 Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.