Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Sells 84 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 84 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $399,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $324,118,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $915,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,453,470 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $119.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $115.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $124.79. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.