Wellington Management Group LLP Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wellington Management Group LLP lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 20,895,984 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,275,782 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned 1.30% of Morgan Stanley worth $2,627,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $324,118,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $915,731,000 after buying an additional 2,453,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $293,174,000 after purchasing an additional 1,230,623 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $115.23 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $185.85 billion, a PE ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.97. 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.53.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.