Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 353,679 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 20,732 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the second quarter. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC now owns 11,803 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $898,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Curi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Curi Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the period. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Buckingham Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the third quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 5,621 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 37,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,937,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 83.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Alistair Darling sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.70, for a total transaction of $189,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,263,835.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 24,556 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.23, for a total value of $2,412,135.88. Following the sale, the insider now owns 190,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,706,921.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Alistair Darling sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.70, for a total value of $189,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,263,835.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 341,699 shares of company stock valued at $33,143,046 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $92.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Citigroup cut shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to an “underperform” rating and set a $92.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $107.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.28.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.78 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,726,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,499,724. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $92.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.95. The company has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $72.05 and a fifty-two week high of $100.99.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $12.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.16 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st were given a $0.775 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 30th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.49%.

About Morgan Stanley

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.

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