Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC Sells 1,051 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.9% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the quarter. Investor s Fiduciary Advisor Network LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE MS opened at $144.50 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $129.57 and its 200-day moving average is $126.09. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $144.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.