Mariner LLC Buys 31,963 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mariner LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 727,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,963 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $91,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after buying an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,683,000 after acquiring an additional 428,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $1,910,200,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $109.06. 5,231,658 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,649,506. The company's 50 day moving average is $119.53 and its 200 day moving average is $124.59. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.55 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

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.