Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Invesco Ltd.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,893,909 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,462,965 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned approximately 0.55% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,118,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was 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.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $99.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $127.06 and a 200-day moving average of $124.43. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $129.87.

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.