LGT Group Foundation Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

LGT Group Foundation reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 502 shares during the period. LGT Group Foundation’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $93.64 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a PE ratio of 17.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $90.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.76.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Cfra raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.