Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by First American Trust FSB

First American Trust FSB cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 655 shares during the period. First American Trust FSB’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $597,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $124.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.61 billion, a PE ratio of 15.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.