Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Argus Investors Counsel Inc.

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 182,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,279,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Investments LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 33.3% during the first quarter. Parkside Investments LLC now owns 8,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $933,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 34,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,031,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 45,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,963,000 after buying an additional 11,421 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 300,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,036,000 after buying an additional 10,523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.38 on Monday, reaching $130.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,233,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,138,738. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $209.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.14. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

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.