The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $900.76 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,164,838 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,694,302 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.44% of Morgan Stanley worth $900,763,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $597,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.3 %

MS traded up $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $116.88. The stock had a trading volume of 7,743,077 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,676,020. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $115.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $188.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley 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.