KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $60.80 Million Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 483,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $60,797,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE MS opened at $120.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.81. The company has a market capitalization of $193.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $85.01 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 46.60%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total value of $1,783,811.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 197,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. HSBC lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $128.00 to $131.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.60.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.