NatWest Group plc Makes New $8.05 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

NatWest Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 64,049 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,052,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 2.4% of NatWest Group plc’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE MS opened at $139.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.51 and a two-hundred day moving average of $117.00.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.