Merit Financial Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,927 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,537 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $832,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.
Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. FMR LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,888,380,000 after purchasing an additional 517,446 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,070,528,000 after purchasing an additional 277,909 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,082,128 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $660,067,000 after purchasing an additional 483,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,672,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $544,913,000 after purchasing an additional 766,530 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley
In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $95.79. 6,844,439 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,453,903. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $155.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.93.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. HSBC lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.30.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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.
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