Leuthold Group LLC Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Leuthold Group LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,963 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,560 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.1% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $131.60 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $84.43 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $132.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on 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 increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.