Stratos Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stratos Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 962 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the third 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 buying an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $89,761,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.2% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,370,572 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,077,000 after buying an additional 569,789 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $136.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $141.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $130.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.71%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. HSBC cut Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price target for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

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.