Allstate Corp Takes $4.52 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 35,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,516,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $324,118,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $293,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,623 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $132,661,000 after acquiring an additional 1,051,189 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $116.85. 7,616,331 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,532,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $188.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.72, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.97. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company's revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.53.

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.