Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Decreased by USS Investment Management Ltd

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 202,126 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 7,931 shares during the quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Waverly Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 71.8% during the 4th quarter. Waverly Advisors LLC now owns 6,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $830,000 after purchasing an additional 2,761 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,366,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 23,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,217 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $63,000. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $696,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $130.76 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $116.05 and a 200-day moving average of $125.37. The company has a market capitalization of $209.78 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. 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 has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI decreased 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

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.