Ossiam Has $25.16 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ossiam cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 82.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 200,107 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 918,192 shares during the period. Ossiam's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,157,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $324,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $3.05 during trading on Thursday, hitting $115.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,684,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,651,675. The business has a 50 day moving average of $117.84 and a 200 day moving average of $124.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Bank of America reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.