Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Has $1.51 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,313 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Union Savings Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded down $5.91 on Friday, reaching $95.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,098,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,627,417. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm has a market cap of $155.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $99.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Cfra upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.