Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Sells 6,030 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,344 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,030 shares during the quarter. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MS stock opened at $144.50 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $129.57 and a 200 day moving average of $126.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $144.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business'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 value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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