Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 26,150 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,148,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 26,150 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $144,337,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,870,683,000 after purchasing an additional 428,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $110.35 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.55 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.48. The stock has a market cap of $177.98 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the 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 approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $130.50.

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.