Eric F. Grossman Sells 13,097 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.85 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.61. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $139.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.36, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 2,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

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.