Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Sells 5,576 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,485 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,576 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Financial Advocates Investment Management bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter worth $274,000. Stephens Inc. AR grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 31,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,320,000 after purchasing an additional 1,972 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 505 shares during the period. Optas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.7% during the 3rd quarter. Optas LLC now owns 2,871 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 568 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 317,239 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,069,000 after buying an additional 17,036 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 3.2 %

NYSE:MS opened at $128.88 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $84.43 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.57. The stock has a market cap of $207.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.37. 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 (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. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 25.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. HSBC downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $131.27.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the company’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total value of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. The trade was a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.