Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,490,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65,456 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $187,393,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’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 approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $120.26 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $193.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.60.

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.