Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Increased by Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,758 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,159,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,718,000 after buying an additional 415,531 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,070,528,000 after buying an additional 277,909 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 8,082,128 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,067,000 after buying an additional 483,859 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,672,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $544,913,000 after buying an additional 766,530 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.27 on Friday, reaching $92.83. 4,606,109 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57. The company has a 50-day moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day moving average of $85.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

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.