Financial Counselors Inc. Has $10.96 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Financial Counselors Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 93,965 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 13,977 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,963,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $915,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.8%

MS stock traded down $2.59 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $141.15. 6,620,391 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,028,671. The firm's 50-day moving average is $130.13 and its 200-day moving average is $126.27. The company has a market cap of $226.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Eleven 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $135.54.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.