Childress Capital Advisors LLC Sells 549 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Childress Capital Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MS shares. Bank of America lifted their target price 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. Barclays raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $137.26 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $141.48. 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 50 day moving average price of $129.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $116.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.29, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 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 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.60%.

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.