denkapparat Operations GmbH Purchases Shares of 4,188 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $527,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 854,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,384,000 after buying an additional 116,754 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 455,922 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,319,000 after acquiring an additional 33,819 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $7,820,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 64,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,116,000 after purchasing an additional 10,056 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $119.17 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $85.01 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.01, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.33.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.