StoneX Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

StoneX Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 22.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,759 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 6,071 shares during the period. StoneX Group Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,118,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $324,118,000. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,731,000 after buying an additional 2,453,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,742,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.87.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 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.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $11.57 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $107.70. The company had a trading volume of 15,179,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,592,060. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $173.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $128.42 and a 200-day moving average of $124.20.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.