OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Sells 3,420 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 57.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,420 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $240,000 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 company. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $477,765,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $327,929,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,065 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 229.0% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $113,369,000 after acquiring an additional 846,266 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $92.10 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $89.02 and a 200 day moving average of $85.10.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total value of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,172,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 302,355 shares of company stock valued at $26,753,102 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.07.

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.