J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 1,133 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,358 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $554,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $110.35 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $118.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $177.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.55 and a 52 week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.50.

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.