Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Forsta AP Fonden

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 6,800 shares. It still held 252,763 shares valued at about $44.9 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $3.43 beating estimates of $3.02 and revenue of $20.58 billion topping expectations. Revenue rose 16% year over year, and the company also paid a $1.00 quarterly dividend.
• Analysts remain divided but generally constructive, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at “Moderate Buy.” The average target price is $205.95, while Zacks recently downgraded the stock to “hold.”

Forsta AP Fonden trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 252,763 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $44,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 502 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,443 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,767 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Howard Financial Services LTD. now owns 3,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balboa Wealth Partners increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 3,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Citizens Jmp reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Barclays boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Key Headlines Impacting Morgan Stanley

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

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $183.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $177.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $126.35 and a 12 month high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.23%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last three months. 0.17% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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