Stephens Inc. AR Sells 2,027 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stephens Inc. AR lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,027 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,749,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,897 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $3,962,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 77,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,700,000 after acquiring an additional 11,249 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 30,511 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,836,000 after acquiring an additional 9,377 shares during the period. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $211,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.46. The company has a market capitalization of $220.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.70%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.