BTC Capital Management Inc. Has $12.76 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BTC Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 109,339 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,232 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.2% of BTC Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. BTC Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,757,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $128.33. 3,607,874 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,693,641. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $205.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.31.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup cut 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.