Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co Has $13.92 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,108 shares during the period. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,921,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,925,304 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $242,473,000 after acquiring an additional 159,065 shares in the last quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 5,010 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $630,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.6% during the fourth quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 10,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,324,000 after purchasing an additional 3,893 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 561,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $70,636,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $122.17 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $130.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $85.01 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $197.05 billion, a PE ratio of 15.39, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.60%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.33.

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.