Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $90.83 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. 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. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

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.