BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Sells 26,272 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 33.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,272 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,521,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the third quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sculati Wealth Management LLC now owns 35,013 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 45.0% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 15,063 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,570,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MS traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.32. The company had a trading volume of 9,237,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,662,839. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $118.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.48. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.55 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.