Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 886.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 118,972 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 106,917 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 29,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,471,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management now owns 1,752 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $204,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 32,846 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,832,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the first quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 219 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.9%
NYSE MS traded down $2.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $129.44. The company had a trading volume of 4,367,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,698,674. The company's fifty day moving average is $121.25 and its 200-day moving average is $125.18. The company has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.
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Morgan Stanley Profile
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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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