1,754,915 Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group sold 1,754,915 Morgan Stanley shares, trimming its stake by 0.5%. It still owns about 375.3 million shares, or 23.8% of Morgan Stanley, valued at roughly $70.6 billion.
• Morgan Stanley beat quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $3.03 per share versus $2.93 expected and revenue of $20.34 billion. Revenue rose 11.6% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share, equivalent to $4.60 annually and a 2.4% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $214.81.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 375,330,252 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,754,915 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 99.9% of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 23.80% of Morgan Stanley worth $70,592,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van Strum & Towne Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 37.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 2,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $508,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 27,696 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,209,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Bayban acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.1% during the third quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 18,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,462,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFM Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the third quarter. CFM Wealth Partners LLC now owns 15,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,828,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.21, for a total transaction of $454,360.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 64,215 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,764,830.15. The trade was a 3.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $189.36 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $193.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.44. The company has a market capitalization of $295.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.58. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $152.80 and a 12-month high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $3.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.10. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 15.63% and a return on equity of 19.26%. The business had revenue of $20.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.80 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 30th will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 30th. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.51%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Investors following MS have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley agreed to acquire Vinyl Equity, a digital transfer agent that provides share transfers, shareholder recordkeeping and cap-table services. Bringing these capabilities in-house could deepen the firm’s services to corporate clients and strengthen links to its workplace and wealth-management businesses. Why Is Morgan Stanley Bringing Transfer Agency In House?
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are weighing Morgan Stanley’s recent digital initiatives, including transfer agency and tokenization, against whether its returns on capital justify its strong multiyear share-price gains. The coverage raises a valuation question but does not report a new change to earnings or guidance. Can Morgan Stanley Justify Its Price After New Digital Moves?
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley director Judith Miscik sold 2,480 shares for about $454,000, reducing her stake by 3.72%. The sale is a modest potential sentiment headwind given her substantial remaining holding. Morgan Stanley Director Sells Shares

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $236.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $205.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $215.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Finally, Freedom Capital raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $214.81.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services company that provides investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. Its Institutional Securities business offers services such as financial advisory, capital raising, sales and trading, and research. The company also provides financial planning, brokerage and banking services through its Wealth Management business, while its Investment Management business offers investment strategies and portfolio management to a range of clients.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.