Strs Ohio Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Strs Ohio trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 473,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,112 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $44,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 1,785 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBOE Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.4% in the 3rd quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 104,017 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 44,725 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $86.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 9,551,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,806,058. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.59 and a 200 day moving average of $84.72. The stock has a market cap of $141.42 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. 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 earned $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MS. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 price objective (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total transaction of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.