Comerica Bank decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 317,150 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,658 shares during the period. Comerica Bank's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,872,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $324,118,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.0 %
Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $3.47 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $120.23. The company had a trading volume of 6,894,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,692,404. 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 company's 50-day moving average is $115.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.77. The company has a market cap of $193.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.
Get Our Latest Analysis on MS
Morgan Stanley 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.
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