Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Trimmed by Decatur Capital Management Inc.

Decatur Capital Management Inc. cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,005,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MS opened at $109.06 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.36 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

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.