Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 47,116 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 41.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,247 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,116 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,178,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $3.10 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.09. The company had a trading volume of 6,060,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,757,732. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $146.54 billion, a PE ratio of 16.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $88.59 and its 200 day moving average is $84.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.30. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.48.

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.