E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Sells 2,360 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,446 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,360 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.27 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $131.89. The company had a trading volume of 5,004,376 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,686,251. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $211.59 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

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.