Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Ossiam

Ossiam decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 82.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 918,192 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,665 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,079. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $109.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.36 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $119.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.