Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 24,087 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,159 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the fourth quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,019,000 after buying an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MS

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $139.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

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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