Capital Research Global Investors Has $2.74 Billion Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 44.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 1.35% of Morgan Stanley worth $2,740,051,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of MS traded up $3.05 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,684,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,866,521. The company has a market cap of $186.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, 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 has a twelve month low of $90.55 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $117.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.39.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.