State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Has $58.52 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 465,438 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,793 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $58,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MS traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $115.98. 5,013,101 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,871,108. 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. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $130.50.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.