Independence Bank of Kentucky Sells 254 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 254 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,489,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.2% in the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $659,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.9% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 256,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,755,000 after acquiring an additional 25,179 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 253,773 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,453,000 after acquiring an additional 15,311 shares during the period. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 9,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,014,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1 %

MS opened at $138.35 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $222.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $83.09 and a 12 month high of $141.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $129.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $116.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.52 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.67%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $104.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $146.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $106.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $107.00 to $142.00 in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $131.27.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 197,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. The trade was a 6.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 $11,076,654.40. This represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.