Cresset Asset Management LLC Sells 74,945 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cresset Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 64.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,048 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 74,945 shares during the quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,161,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crestline Management LP boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,670.7% during the fourth quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 53,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,709,000 after purchasing an additional 51,438 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 114.4% in the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 2,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $300,000 after acquiring an additional 19,003 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 191,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.8% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 158,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $19,901,000 after acquiring an additional 35,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $3,247,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $2.26 on Tuesday, hitting $129.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,964,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,690,165. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $207.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $114.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.91.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% 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.