Bessemer Group Inc. Has $171.46 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,469,593 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 62,905 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Morgan Stanley worth $171,458,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Spire Wealth Management increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.7% in the first quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 12,668 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,478,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the first quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,352 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 811 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the first quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 786,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $91,798,000 after purchasing an additional 72,838 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,101 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Berry Wealth Group LP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 41.6% during the 1st quarter. Berry Wealth Group LP now owns 2,630 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $307,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% 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 valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $139.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,012,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,679,442. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $125.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. 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.