Elyxium Wealth LLC Purchases Shares of 2,187 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,187 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $255,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $140.80 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16. The stock's 50 day moving average is $134.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.89 billion, a PE ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 41.90%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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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