Schroder Investment Management Group Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 50.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 0.9% of Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.45% of Morgan Stanley worth $915,731,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,066,000. Intrust Bank NA grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 16,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,106,000 after acquiring an additional 804 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $4,516,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 19,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,455,000 after buying an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Level Four Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 113,370 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,253,000 after acquiring an additional 4,007 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $115.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.21%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $124.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.