Conning Inc. Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Conning Inc. trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 387,816 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,534 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $36,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,543,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the third quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.2% in the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 12,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CBOE Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.4% during the 3rd quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 104,017 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,495,000 after purchasing an additional 44,725 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.48.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.65 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $86.19. The stock had a trading volume of 12,789,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,500,974. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.67. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. The firm has a market cap of $140.20 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The firm had revenue of $12.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.76%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 50,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.93, for a total transaction of $4,396,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 400,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,172,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.