Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. Sells 2,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 28,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. 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 report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of MS traded up $1.64 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $144.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,974,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,693,141. The stock has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 $144.56. The company's 50 day moving average is $129.57 and its 200 day moving average is $126.05.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm'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 sale, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Company 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.