Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,540 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 14,894 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This 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.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America raised their price target 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. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.98 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $125.25. The stock had a trading volume of 4,326,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,122. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $202.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.