AQR Capital Management LLC Has $25.17 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 200,232 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 67,570 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,173,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI lowered 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.6 %

MS traded up $0.76 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $119.09. 4,680,570 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,686,299. The company's fifty day moving average price is $114.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

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.