Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 30.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 336,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 144,200 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $42,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,159,000 after purchasing an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $881,493,000 after buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.94 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $112.32. 9,237,275 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,662,839. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.55 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $181.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company's 50-day moving average is $117.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.