BTC Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BTC Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 101,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,705 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.2% of BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 637 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 511,824 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $64,347,000 after buying an additional 147,807 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 132,977 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,681,000 after acquiring an additional 26,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $481,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.59 on Friday, reaching $138.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,502,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,995,130. The company has a market capitalization of $222.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $141.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.07. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

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.