Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Centaurus Financial Inc.

Posted by Defense World Staff on Mar 17th, 2023

Centaurus Financial Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 27.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,233 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,539 shares during the quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Toroso Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 20,446 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,615,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 29.7% during the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 5,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $658,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 39,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,424,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.48% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total transaction of $24,232,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,112,348 shares in the company, valued at $107,819,891.64. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $4,358,515.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 348,531 shares in the company, valued at $33,824,933.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $24,232,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,112,348 shares in the company, valued at $107,819,891.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 341,699 shares of company stock worth $33,143,046 over the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $87.01 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $146.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $95.47 and a 200-day moving average of $88.85. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $72.05 and a 52 week high of $100.99.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $12.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 12.06% and a net margin of 16.73%. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Cfra raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, Wolfe Research cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $92.00 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.28.

About Morgan Stanley

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.