Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Cedar Wealth Management LLC

Posted by Defense World Staff on Sep 10th, 2023

Cedar Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 42.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. Cedar Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arlington Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,611.8% during the 1st quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Horizon Bancorp Inc. IN acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 208.3% in the first quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Securities LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Edward N. Pick sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total transaction of $9,433,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 604,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $57,055,028.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Edward N. Pick sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.33, for a total value of $9,433,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 604,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $57,055,028.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 13,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total value of $1,242,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 82,984 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,634,528. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 369,100 shares of company stock valued at $34,634,996 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Odeon Capital Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

Read Our Latest Research Report on MS

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3 %

MS opened at $84.92 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $87.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $74.67 and a one year high of $100.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $140.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 12.19%. The business had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Friday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.