36,271 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Raiffeisen Bank International AG

Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 36,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,561,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $132.43 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $115.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.08. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. 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 company has a market cap of $212.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 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 business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% 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.