Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC Sells 6,641 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,512 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,641 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.4% of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $65,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th 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. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $119.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,539,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,691,794. The firm's 50-day moving average is $115.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.79. The company has a market cap of $192.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

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.