Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by United Services Automobile Association

United Services Automobile Association trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 28,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the quarter. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,583,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 92,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,686,000 after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,235,000 after purchasing an additional 5,155 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $380,000. Finally, Nicolet Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $794,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $120.26 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $123.13. The firm has a market cap of $193.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, 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. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.