Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 300,302 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 10,523 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company 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. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $131.92. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,258,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,683,754. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $120.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS 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 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 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.