Cwm LLC Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cwm LLC trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 28,918 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 108.7% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 4,372 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 4,497 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 751 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 11,029 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,387,000 after purchasing an additional 1,128 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 126,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $15,942,000 after purchasing an additional 514 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $143.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $230.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.90, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $132.60 and its 200-day moving average is $126.82. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $145.16. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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