Norinchukin Bank The Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Norinchukin Bank The grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 56,272 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,761 shares during the quarter. Norinchukin Bank The's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in 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 purchasing an additional 428,956 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.94 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $112.32. 9,237,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,661,456. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock's 50 day moving average is $118.38 and its 200-day moving average is $124.48.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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 report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently 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.