Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 383,211 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,820,988 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 383,211 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.54% of Morgan Stanley worth $815,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Boston Partners bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at about $477,765,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,917,159,000 after purchasing an additional 4,098,577 shares in the last quarter. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the third quarter valued at approximately $223,596,000. California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 53.1% during the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 4,015,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,065 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 229.0% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,215,753 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $113,369,000 after purchasing an additional 846,266 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 237,855 shares of company stock worth $21,084,057 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of MS traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $95.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,932,900 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,380,694. 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 $95.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.69 and a 200 day moving average of $86.30. The company has a market cap of $155.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Profile

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.