Russell Investments Group Ltd. Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 927,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 278,049 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $86,520,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $369,000. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 57.9% during the third quarter. Ropes Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,781 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,753 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $580,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 30.1% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 38,145 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,115,000 after purchasing an additional 8,830 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 91.5% during the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 10,581 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,055 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.83. 4,606,109 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $89.68 and its 200 day moving average is $85.44. The stock has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a PE ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given 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 3.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. 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. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

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.