Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Nuveen Asset Management LLC

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,478,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 323,063 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.34% of Morgan Stanley worth $688,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 77,441 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,736,000 after purchasing an additional 12,088 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. MJP Associates Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $279,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 141.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 271,692 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $34,156,000 after purchasing an additional 159,388 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $14,093,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $132.08. The company had a trading volume of 6,300,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,600. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $211.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $115.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.