RNC Capital Management LLC Sells 19,029 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

RNC Capital Management LLC lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 23.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,755 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 19,029 shares during the period. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,250,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.48% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $84.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $141.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $72.05 and a 1-year high of $100.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $95.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.84.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 16.73% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $12.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 30th. This represents a $3.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 50.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wolfe Research cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Odeon Capital Group upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $88.75 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Finally, Cfra upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $97.28.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total transaction of $4,358,515.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 348,531 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,824,933.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 44,910 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.05, for a total value of $4,358,515.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 348,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,824,933.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total transaction of $2,412,135.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 190,440 shares in the company, valued at $18,706,921.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 341,699 shares of company stock worth $33,143,046 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.