Northern Financial Advisors Inc Sells 1,697 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northern Financial Advisors Inc lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,308 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,697 shares during the period. Northern Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $495,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Boston Partners purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $477,765,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 229.0% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,369,000 after buying an additional 846,266 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,831,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,378,745. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $90.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. HSBC boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

About Morgan Stanley

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.