Aristotle Capital Management LLC Sells 13,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Aristotle Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 813,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,000 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $102,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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. This trade represents a 10.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.67 during trading on Monday, hitting $119.55. 6,539,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,691,795. The business's fifty day moving average is $115.02 and its 200 day moving average is $124.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (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 previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

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.