Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Raises Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,758 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,621,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% in the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $92.83. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,606,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. 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 50 day moving average of $89.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $85.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.