Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,640 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,640 shares during the period. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,132,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was 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. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.39 on Monday, hitting $141.08. 8,034,186 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,682,683. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.28. The firm has a market cap of $226.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $126.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

About Morgan Stanley

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.