FIL Ltd Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

FIL Ltd cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,653,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,000 shares during the period. FIL Ltd owned about 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $154,181,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $958,105,000. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $512,867,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,674,000 after buying an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,094,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $659,251,000 after buying an additional 1,195,258 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MS opened at $95.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $103.25. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.18 and a 200 day moving average of $90.54. The firm has a market cap of $155.20 billion, a PE ratio of 17.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.