Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,372,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 122,648 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.15% of Morgan Stanley worth $298,278,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MS traded down $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $115.82. The company had a trading volume of 6,648,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,532,770. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $129.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.73.

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.