Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 147.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,093 shares during the period. BNP Paribas' holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.76 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $119.09. The stock had a trading volume of 4,680,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,683,372. 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 $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $114.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $124.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $192.08 billion, a PE ratio of 15.00, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.