Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,237,185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 474,620 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $532,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after acquiring an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $139.19 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $131.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $118.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $84.41 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.