Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Trust Co. of Vermont decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,579 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $886,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew 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 valued at $2,284,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,888,380,000 after purchasing an additional 517,446 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,883,392,000 after purchasing an additional 575,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,070,528,000 after purchasing an additional 277,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target 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. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.18 on Monday, hitting $95.68. The stock had a trading volume of 289,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,643,759. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $103.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $155.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $95.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $90.72.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last ninety days. 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.