Ieq Capital LLC Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ieq Capital LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 98,811 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 18,213 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,423,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,600 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after purchasing an additional 590,872 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $71,927,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $140.70 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $84.43 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $226.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37.

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. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.