Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Reduced by Sapient Capital LLC

Sapient Capital LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Sapient Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.80 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $130.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.70. The stock has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.