2,172 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Balefire LLC

Balefire LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,172 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 165.9% in the 4th quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 9,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 6,163 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $338,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,000. Finally, Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6%

MS stock traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.64. 7,240,555 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,681,702. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.44. The company has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.63%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.