Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Sells 10,379 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 3.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,379 shares and leaving it with 280,958 shares valued at about $49.9 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates and revenue rising 16% year over year to $20.58 billion.
• The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, equal to an annualized $4.00 dividend and a yield of 1.9%, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $205.95.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 280,958 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,379 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,736,648,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,253,554,000 after buying an additional 1,361,940 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $249,710,000 after buying an additional 1,348,683 shares in the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $170,037,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 40.2% during the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,933,604 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $466,326,000 after buying an additional 841,263 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $208.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.22. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $183.78 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.60 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Dbs Bank lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $185.00 to $220.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $205.95.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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