Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 779,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 161,230 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $90,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during 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. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after buying an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,731,000 after buying an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley
In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%
Shares of MS stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $140.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,572,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,580,971. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $134.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.23. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on MS
Morgan Stanley Company Profile
(
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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