Summit Financial LLC Has $2.60 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Summit Financial LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 44.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,527 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,602,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $477,765,000. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 53.1% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $327,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 229.0% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $113,369,000 after purchasing an additional 846,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,713,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,594,430. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $89.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.68. The stock has a market cap of $148.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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