Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Amica Mutual Insurance Co.

Amica Mutual Insurance Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,771 shares during the quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,065,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Eurizon SLJ Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $625,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $94,284,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 419.9% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 22,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,996,000 after buying an additional 18,180 shares during the last quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 45,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,091,000 after buying an additional 18,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,717,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.9%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $207.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.