Raiffeisen Bank International AG Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 36,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,561,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $8,052,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve equities 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, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $132.43 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $212.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $115.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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.

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