Korea Investment CORP Sells 262,031 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 957,428 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 262,031 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $120,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,240,729 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,621,140,000 after purchasing an additional 269,633 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,870,683,000 after purchasing an additional 428,956 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,019,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,385,396,000 after purchasing an additional 47,699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 8,454,177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $881,263,000 after purchasing an additional 385,780 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $122.17 on Thursday. 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 fifty-two week low of $85.01 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $130.39 and a 200 day moving average of $123.50. The company has a market capitalization of $197.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.33.

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.