Capital International Inc. CA Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital International Inc. CA grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 24.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 169,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,746 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.94 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.32. 9,237,275 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,662,839. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $118.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.48. The firm has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 1-year low of $90.55 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of 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 cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $130.50.

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.