365,825 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Acquired by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 365,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $42,681,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business'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 value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $129.44. 4,367,543 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,685,427. The company's 50-day moving average price is $121.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.23. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.