Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Lowered by Morningstar Investment Management LLC

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 65.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,843 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Boston Financial Mangement LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 8,203 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 3,315 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 410.9% in the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 12,589 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 10,125 shares in the last quarter. Advyzon Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $528,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 484,479 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $60,909,000 after purchasing an additional 44,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $2.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $131.60. 6,701,387 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,566,525. The company has a market cap of $212.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.50. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $84.43 and a 52 week high of $142.03. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped 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. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.