RNC Capital Management LLC Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

RNC Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,779 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,521 shares during the quarter. RNC Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 61.9% during the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 6,696 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.4 %

MS opened at $93.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $152.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $12.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.77 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.36% and a net margin of 9.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 65.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 208,155 shares of company stock worth $18,149,314. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. HSBC lowered Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $96.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target (down from $102.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.23.

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.