Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Raja Akram Sells 17,500 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $137.51 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.45. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $83.09 and a 52-week high of $138.38. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $221.54 billion, a PE ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a report on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $108.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Eleven 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 company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 138.1% during the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Planning Capital Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 115.1% in the third quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp now owns 357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.