Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 76,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,124,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $904,714,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632,735 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at about $477,765,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $451,711,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7 %

MS stock traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $86.19. The stock had a trading volume of 12,789,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,500,974. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company's 50-day moving average price is $88.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $84.69. The firm has a market cap of $140.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 30th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 65.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.48.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

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.