Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Position Lessened by Forsta AP Fonden

Forsta AP Fonden decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 252,763 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $44,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $2,736,648,000. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $625,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $94,284,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 419.9% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,996,000 after purchasing an additional 18,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Triglav Investments D.O.O. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 68.9% in the fourth quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 45,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,091,000 after purchasing an additional 18,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wolfe Research decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $221.00 to $197.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Rothschild & Co Redburn increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $207.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.39. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $126.35 and a fifty-two week high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The company’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.