Unisphere Establishment Sells 900,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Unisphere Establishment trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 46.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,050,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 900,000 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.2% of Unisphere Establishment's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Unisphere Establishment owned 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $132,006,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $3.47 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,894,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,685,808. The stock's 50-day moving average is $115.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.91 billion, a PE ratio of 15.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.