Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 927,440 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 278,049 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $86,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 3rd quarter worth about $477,765,000. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth approximately $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 53.1% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 229.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,369,000 after purchasing an additional 846,266 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 313,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,562,040.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, hitting $92.83. 4,606,109 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $85.44. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $95.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.