Ameriprise Financial Inc. Sells 281,368 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,015,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 281,368 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned 0.80% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,265,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,228,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,886,292,000 after buying an additional 495,055 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,251,387,000 after buying an additional 303,654 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,061,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,973,000 after buying an additional 979,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MS opened at $102.34 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $166.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

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.