Krane Funds Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Krane Funds Advisors LLC lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,868 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 243 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 7.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $99.75 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $127.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.43. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 28th. UBS Group upped their target price 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. Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $129.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the 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 trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.