Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 505,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 157,700 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 2.4% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $63,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,671,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

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Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 6.4 %

NYSE:MS traded down $7.69 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $111.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 16,760,232 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,279,502. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $132.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.20. 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 twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $180.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.