Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Norinchukin Bank The

Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 56,272 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,761 shares during the period. Norinchukin Bank The’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,075,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,665 shares of company stock worth $5,288,079 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $109.06 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.36 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $175.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $119.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.31.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $130.50.

Morgan Stanley 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.