Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 653,858 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,269 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $76,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $62,804,000 after acquiring an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on MS
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
Shares of MS traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.64. 7,240,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,686,691. The company has a market cap of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $126.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The company also recently announced 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 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
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