Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 33.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,912 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,989 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,379,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $324,118,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
MS traded down $2.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $129.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,367,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,698,674. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $121.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization 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.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.
Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley
Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% 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 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.
About Morgan Stanley
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Free Report)
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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