Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp Acquires New Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Consolidated Portfolio Review Corp acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,014 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $235,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $324,118,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

MS stock opened at $137.78 on Thursday. The business's 50 day moving average is $125.26 and its 200-day moving average is $125.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $221.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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