Crestline Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2,670.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 53,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 51,438 shares during the period. Crestline Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after purchasing an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after buying an additional 604,024 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $119.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $192.82 billion, a PE ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $115.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.79.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share 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 given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.
Check Out 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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