Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Capital Group Private Client Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 228,670 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,260 shares during the quarter. Capital Group Private Client Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during 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 buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $597,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.10 and a 200 day moving average of $124.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $89.74 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.50.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.