Norges Bank Acquires Shares of 15,194,081 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,194,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 0.94% of Morgan Stanley at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays increased 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. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $131.53.

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Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $3.77 on Friday, reaching $115.23. 7,347,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,527,969. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $185.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $123.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.