Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Salem Investment Counselors Inc.

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,317 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $125.80.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $123.53. 2,615,264 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,431,593. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $128.45 and its 200-day moving average is $112.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $199.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.27 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total value of $7,150,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.