Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Earnest Partners LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 89,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,325 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,282,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3 %

MS traded up $1.46 on Thursday, reaching $116.88. 7,743,077 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,676,020. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $188.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.64. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.