Zions Bancorporation N.A. Cuts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,149 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % 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. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $131.53.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $3.77 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $115.23. The stock had a trading volume of 7,347,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,527,969. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.