Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s 7th Largest Position

Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,969,490 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,775 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 4.1% of Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd owned about 0.37% of Morgan Stanley worth $750,484,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,850,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,493,000 after purchasing an additional 3,369,520 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 382.4% in the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,597,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $166,555,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,600 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 26,142.5% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,055,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $132,661,000 after purchasing an additional 1,051,189 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $89,761,000. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,404,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,335,495,000 after buying an additional 590,872 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’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 sale, the insider now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $131.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average of $132.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $120.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.11 billion, a PE ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $84.43 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 46.60%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $131.27.

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.