Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $108.02 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 859,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 77,203 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $108,024,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $129.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $129.87.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 7.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $160.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $127.06 and a 200-day moving average of $124.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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.

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.