Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 519,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,641 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.4% of Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $65,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $324,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $120.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $193.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $115.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $124.73.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of 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 cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $132.46.

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.