Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 34.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.38 on Monday, reaching $143.76. 5,990,224 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,690,328. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $129.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.12. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $145.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.57%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by 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.