Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,628,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 129,800 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $204,710,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after acquiring an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $597,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after purchasing an additional 16,350 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $140.66 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $84.43 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market cap of $226.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $131.89 and a 200-day moving average of $119.25.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

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.