Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Has $259.96 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,067,755 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 120,503 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 0.8% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 0.13% of Morgan Stanley worth $259,958,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% in the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the third quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after buying an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value 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. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $1.28 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $114.01. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,361,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,644,625. The company has a market cap of $183.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $142.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $116.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

About Morgan Stanley

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.