Comerica Bank Sells 22,658 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Comerica Bank reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 317,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,658 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,872,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MS opened at $115.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.73 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a fifty day moving average of $115.70 and a 200 day moving average of $124.64.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

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.