Intrust Bank NA Buys 804 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Intrust Bank NA raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the quarter. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,106,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $324,118,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,174,000 after buying an additional 1,230,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $132,661,000 after buying an additional 1,051,189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $115.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $123.59. 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 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 company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.