Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 610,501 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 47,222 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $57,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 255,454 shares of company stock valued at $26,870,683 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.6 %

MS stock traded down $2.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $102.09. 12,555,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,320,718. The firm has a market capitalization of $165.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.23 and a 200-day moving average of $92.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. HSBC upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.18.

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.