Castleark Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Castleark Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,900 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 35,920 shares during the period. Castleark Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,870,683,000 after acquiring an additional 428,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in 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 buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $2.94 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $129.01. 2,238,540 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,695,129. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $117.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $206.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.26, a P/E/G 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 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

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.