Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 750,583 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 89,414 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $105,708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,123,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,779,734,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,142 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,980,120 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,546,659,000 after purchasing an additional 28,420 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on MS. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $168.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $267.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $171.77. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $160.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $147.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.88 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

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.