Boston Common Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 228,372 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 85,985 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $26,644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2%

MS traded down $0.25 on Monday, reaching $127.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,428,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,345,870. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.31. 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 $205.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

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.