Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 16,879,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,289,863 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,122,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $491,159,000 after buying an additional 36,120 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3,067.9% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 22,872 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,384,000 after purchasing an additional 22,150 shares in the last quarter. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,383,000. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 394.0% during the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 40,178 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,188,000 after purchasing an additional 32,044 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.7 %

MS opened at $115.82 on Wednesday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $128.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $124.23. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $85.01 and a one year high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $186.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 28th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $130.73.

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.