Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Arrow Financial Corp

Arrow Financial Corp lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 39.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,258 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,471 shares during the period. Arrow Financial Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,013,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine investment 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $143.29. 1,653,360 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,925,536. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $134.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.