Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Metis Global Partners LLC

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,924 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,880,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th 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 raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% during the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Bank of America upped their price objective 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. Cfra increased 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. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. 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 ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $94.79. 5,088,570 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,465,685. The stock has a market cap of $154.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $90.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.98. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.