First Citizens Financial Corp lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 320 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Financial Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 474.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,203,000 after purchasing an additional 17,454 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,711,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,152,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,182,000 after buying an additional 16,350 shares during the period. Catalytic Wealth RIA LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $579,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,070,000 after acquiring an additional 5,738 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. HSBC cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $121.80.
Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %
NYSE MS traded up $0.47 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $125.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,365,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,129,376. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $127.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $111.19. 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 has a 52 week low of $83.09 and a 52 week high of $136.24. The stock has a market cap of $201.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.31. The firm had revenue of $15.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.27 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.64% and a return on equity of 12.58%. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.95%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.32%.
Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley
In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Stephen J. Luczo sold 60,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.17, for a total transaction of $7,150,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 138,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,488,718.71. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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.
See Also
- Five stocks we like better than Morgan Stanley
- Natural Gas Prices Continue To Rally, These Stocks Should Benefit
- Rivian Defies Doubters: Delivery Triumph Fuels Stock Surge
- How to buy stock: A step-by-step guide for beginners
- Hindenburg Short Report Slams Carvana Over Alleged ‘Grift’
- 2 Rising CRM Platform Stocks That Can Surge Higher in 2025
- MicroStrategy Feels Bitcoin’s Weight: 2 Smart Dips to Watch
Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.