2,840 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Bought by Breakthru Advisory Services LLC

Breakthru Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,840 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during 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. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value 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 approximately $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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of MS traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $127.97. 1,628,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,687,653. The business has a fifty day moving average of $117.21 and a 200-day moving average of $125.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.31 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm 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 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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.