New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,800 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $139.19 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $224.24 billion, a PE ratio of 17.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $118.20. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.41 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, 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. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.