Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Sells 47,121 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 306,137 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,121 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,488,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake 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 buying an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after acquiring an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $71,927,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Barclays increased 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $131.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $132.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.72. 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 $84.43 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $211.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a 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%.

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.