UMB Bank n.a. Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

UMB Bank n.a. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 187,301 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,456 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $23,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% during the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.40.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $137.78. 12,389,736 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,932,170. The company has a market cap of $221.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $138.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $113.77. 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 data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company 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 12.58% and a net margin of 10.64%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 56.32%.

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.