Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by FDx Advisors Inc.

FDx Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,579 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 4.5 %

MS stock opened at $134.36 on Friday. 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 52-week low of $84.43 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $132.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $119.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

About Morgan Stanley

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.