Northern Trust Corp Purchases 2,233,589 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned about 0.83% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,685,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.0 %

NYSE MS traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,894,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,676,886. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $115.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.67. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lowered 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.