Insider Selling: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells 13,097 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $139.04. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $129.48 and its 200-day moving average is $114.87. The stock has a market cap of $222.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.9% in the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,093,000 after buying an additional 3,484 shares in the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 27.8% in the second quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 4,723 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028 shares in the last quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 22.6% during the second quarter. Mill Creek Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 234,923 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,832,000 after purchasing an additional 87,457 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 98.9% in the 2nd quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 24,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,285,000 after purchasing an additional 12,344 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

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.