Truist Financial Corp Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Truist Financial Corp lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,029,623 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 66,066 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $96,012,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.83. 4,606,109 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $85.40. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The stock has a market cap of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.07.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total value of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.92, for a total transaction of $879,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,562,040.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.