Los Angeles Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 61.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 96,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 152,403 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
NYSE:MS opened at $140.43 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16. The company has a market cap of $225.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $134.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.90%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.
Check Out Our Latest Report on MS
About Morgan Stanley
(
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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