Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS Has $49.88 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 280,958 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 10,379 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $49,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,855.6% during the fourth quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC now owns 176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 65.2% during the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total value of $9,744,068.12. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,209,159.78. This represents a 15.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:MS opened at $207.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $183.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.39. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $126.35 and a 52-week high of $208.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.22.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.