Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,718,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 132,339 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.48% of Morgan Stanley worth $970,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $324,118,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. Axiom Investors LLC DE bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $195,742,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.7% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,331,960 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $293,174,000 after buying an additional 1,230,623 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 3.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $115.23 on Monday. 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 $85.01 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $185.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.61 and a 200 day moving average of $123.97.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $142.00 to $130.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.53.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.