Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Invests $206,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $107.87 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $120.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.24. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $89.67 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $173.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,665 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,079 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.50.

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.