Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Sells $2,380,175.00 in Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $137.85 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $83.09 and a 12-month high of $139.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $114.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.09 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 96,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,161,000 after buying an additional 14,933 shares in the last quarter. Grunden Financial Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $219,000. Trust Point Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 11,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Optas LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Optas LLC now owns 3,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $111,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Morgan Stanley

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.