Jackson Wealth Management LLC Sells 27,852 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Jackson Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 91.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,568 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 27,852 shares during the period. Jackson Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Union Savings Bank increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $5.91 during trading on Friday, reaching $95.85. 11,120,672 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.71 and a 200-day moving average of $93.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. 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.