23,000 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Bought by Graphene Investments SAS

Graphene Investments SAS acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 23,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,683,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of MS stock opened at $139.87 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $125.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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