Ossiam Trims Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ossiam cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 82.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 200,107 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 918,192 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,157,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after acquiring an additional 3,369,520 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $324,118,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $109.06 on Friday. 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 company’s 50-day moving average price is $119.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.31. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.36 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $175.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,665 shares of company stock valued at $5,288,079 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.50.

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.