Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Howe & Rusling Inc.

Howe & Rusling Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,483 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,459 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.0% of Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Howe & Rusling Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,753,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $293,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. 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.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $3.77 during trading on Friday, hitting $115.23. 7,347,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,527,969. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $129.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents 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 corporate 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.