Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Lowered by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,558 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,159,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,718,000 after acquiring an additional 415,531 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,070,528,000 after acquiring an additional 277,909 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,082,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $660,067,000 after purchasing an additional 483,859 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.0% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,672,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,913,000 after purchasing an additional 766,530 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $90.83 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.68. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insider Activity 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 Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’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 in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. HSBC upped their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

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.