Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 120,697 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $108.04 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.49 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $174.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $122.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.42.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

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.