Hamlin Capital Management LLC Sells 13,303 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hamlin Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,490,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 13,303 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 4.6% of Hamlin Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Hamlin Capital Management LLC owned about 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $187,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.9% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares in the last quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 3,116 shares in the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after purchasing an additional 3,484 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 89,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,874 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 526,151 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $51,137,000 after purchasing an additional 8,260 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MS opened at $137.78 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $138.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $113.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.40.

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.