MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $41.48 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,959 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,394 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $41,482,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS stock traded up $3.30 on Thursday, reaching $115.61. 6,636,204 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,662,768. 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 has a 12 month low of $90.55 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $117.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays raised their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.