Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Has $117.54 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 934,926 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 99,530 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.8% of Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $117,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 24,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,080,000 after purchasing an additional 2,374 shares during the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 2,494 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Crestline Management LP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,670.7% in the 4th quarter. Crestline Management LP now owns 53,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,709,000 after buying an additional 51,438 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 114.4% during the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 2,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $300,000 after acquiring an additional 19,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 191,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $24,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,195 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $121.66. The company had a trading volume of 4,240,066 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,682,681. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $114.39 and a 200-day moving average of $124.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

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.