Intrust Bank NA Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Intrust Bank NA boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 804 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,106,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 4,408 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Perfromance Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,004 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

MS opened at $115.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $85.01 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $129.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $123.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Barclays boosted their target price 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.53.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.