Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Sells $2,380,175.00 in Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $137.51. 6,904,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,239,528. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $83.09 and a 1 year high of $138.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.30 and its 200 day moving average is $114.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $221.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank now owns 2,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $361,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.7% in the fourth quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,216 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 511,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $64,347,000 after purchasing an additional 147,807 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 132,977 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,681,000 after purchasing an additional 26,518 shares during the period. Finally, Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $481,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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.