Prudential Financial Inc. Acquires 65,456 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,490,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,456 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $187,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $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 stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % 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 company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $120.26 on Monday. 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 has a market capitalization of $193.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $130.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.60.

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.