Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 888,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 196,331 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $111,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,925,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $242,473,000 after purchasing an additional 159,065 shares during the period. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $630,000 after buying an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.6% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 10,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,324,000 after buying an additional 3,893 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 561,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,636,000 after acquiring an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $119.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $130.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.47. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.