Bard Financial Services Inc. Sells 250 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bard Financial Services Inc. cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,180 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 250 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,531,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 385.2% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 393 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE:MS traded up $3.33 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $129.27. 3,014,352 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,943,626. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $111.58. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $83.09 and a one year high of $136.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $15.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.32%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares in the company, valued at $16,488,718.71. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $123.13.

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.