Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Summit Global Investments

Summit Global Investments reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 83.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,957 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after purchasing an additional 269,633 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,019,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,385,396,000 after buying an additional 47,699 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,263,000 after buying an additional 385,780 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd 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. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $130.93.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 3.5 %

MS stock opened at $124.38 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company 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 quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.