Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Cuts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 66,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,400 shares during the quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $137.80 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a market cap of $222.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.37. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $117.70.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 $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 company 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.