Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 28,554 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,549 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 28,554 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,161,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

MS stock traded down $0.43 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.08. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,300,069 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,704,600. The company 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 moving average price is $115.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

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.