Swedbank AB Sells 5,006 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Swedbank AB lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 832,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,006 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.05% of Morgan Stanley worth $104,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Allen Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 3,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 313,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,371,000 after buying an additional 23,300 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 35.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 624,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $78,571,000 after acquiring an additional 165,162 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.7% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 22,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,818,000 after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $138.77 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $83.09 and a twelve month high of $141.48. The stock has a market cap of $223.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.66 and its 200-day moving average is $115.51.

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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 46.60%.

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.