Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,876 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $324,118,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $166,555,000 after buying an additional 1,266,600 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,661,000 after buying an additional 1,051,189 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $89,761,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $112.18 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $180.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $132.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value 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. The trade was 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 currently owned by company 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.