Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by TCTC Holdings LLC

TCTC Holdings LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 474.3% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 21,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,203,000 after buying an additional 17,454 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,040,000. Johnson & White Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $597,000. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% in the third quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 77,420 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,070,000 after buying an additional 5,738 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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 transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $115.41 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $131.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.51. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $85.01 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $186.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.