Covea Finance Invests $3.36 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Covea Finance purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 28,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,360,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. 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 MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

MS stock traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.56. The company had a trading volume of 8,899,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,705,543. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $212.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $123.65 and a 200 day moving average of $125.21. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.