Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $11.97 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 95,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,085 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,970,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.9% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.1% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,967 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 57.4% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the third quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 27,139 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,829,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Childress Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the third quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $538,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.04 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $211.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $84.43 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.72.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Bank of America upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.