RNC Capital Management LLC Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

RNC Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 35,196 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,782 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% in the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $141.06 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $227.26 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $116.83. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $83.09 and a fifty-two week high of $141.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.