United Services Automobile Association Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

United Services Automobile Association lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,503 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,133 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

MS stock opened at $120.26 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $130.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $123.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.