Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by OLD Second National Bank of Aurora

OLD Second National Bank of Aurora cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 880 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.5% of OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. OLD Second National Bank of Aurora’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,363,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 60.1% in the fourth quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $248,000 after buying an additional 999 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 123,938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,556,000 after buying an additional 6,269 shares during the last quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 141,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,163,000 after acquiring an additional 4,447 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.13, for a total value of $841,300.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 323,490 shares in the company, valued at $27,215,213.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 201,155 shares of company stock worth $17,564,394. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.79.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.73 on Thursday, hitting $90.81. 1,232,598 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,837,944. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The company has a market cap of $147.71 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $88.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.81.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.74%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.