Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 99.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,300,023 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 646,940 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned approximately 0.08% of Morgan Stanley worth $163,439,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
MS traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $109.06. The stock had a trading volume of 5,231,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,655,480. The stock has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.36 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $124.31.
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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The business 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 $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,665 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,079 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.
View Our Latest Analysis on Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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