Retirement Systems of Alabama Increases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,051,033 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 87,047 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $98,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.0% during the third quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,104,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $92.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,606,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $95.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day moving average of $85.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.07.

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.