Cullen Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cullen Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,830,069 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 631,848 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 2.6% of Cullen Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 8th largest position. Cullen Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Morgan Stanley worth $230,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $6.08 on Thursday, hitting $105.63. 4,635,058 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,874,416. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $123.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.22. The company has a market cap of $170.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.