Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Lowered by Ashburton Jersey Ltd

Ashburton Jersey Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 906 shares during the quarter. Ashburton Jersey Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.8% in the third quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,777 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 4,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $461,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,795 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 80.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 240,682 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $23,408,000 after purchasing an additional 106,981 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $99.75 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $127.06 and its 200-day moving average is $124.25. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents 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.

Morgan Stanley 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.