Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,047,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 660,607 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.13% of Morgan Stanley worth $288,465,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 645.8% during the 2nd quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $176.64 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $177.32. The firm has a market cap of $280.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.12, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $149.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.27, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.40%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 41.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total transaction of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $177.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Dbs Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $165.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.38.

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.