American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 43.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,095,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 831,977 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $154,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the second quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 674 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $158.72 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $171.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $252.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $160.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.85% and a return on equity of 16.55%. The business had revenue of $17.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.03%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $94,493,199.24. This represents a 14.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.