Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Lincoln National Corp

Lincoln National Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 50,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares during the quarter. Lincoln National Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $188,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS traded up $1.15 on Monday, hitting $94.79. 5,103,496 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,465,847. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.14. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $154.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.