Todd Asset Management LLC Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Todd Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 415,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,835 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.9% of Todd Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Todd Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. M&R Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Cfra lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.64. The stock had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The firm has a market cap of $152.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The business’s fifty day moving average is $90.30 and its 200-day moving average is $85.87.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. Company insiders own 0.24% 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.