Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Korea Investment CORP lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 945,678 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 101,357 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $133,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 106.8% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 641 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Brucke Financial Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.3% during the first quarter. Brucke Financial Inc. now owns 1,869 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vestcor Inc lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the first quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 23,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

MS stock opened at $168.15 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $147.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $171.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $267.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The business’s revenue was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 41.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target for the company. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. The trade was a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.