Savant Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Savant Capital LLC reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 17.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 8,007 shares and leaving it with 36,740 shares valued at about $6.52 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong quarterly results, with earnings per share of $3.43 beating estimates by $0.41 and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations and rising 16% year over year.
• Analysts remain split but generally constructive: the stock carries a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $205.95 price target, even as Zacks recently downgraded it from “strong-buy” to “hold.”

Savant Capital LLC cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 36,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,007 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zacks Research cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, CICC Research lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. The trade was a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $208.08. The stock has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $183.78 and a 200-day moving average of $177.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 36.23%.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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