GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. Sells 5,949 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• GW Henssler & Associates trimmed its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 5,949 shares and ending with 96,164 shares valued at about $17.1 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported strong first-quarter results, with earnings of $3.43 per share beating estimates and revenue rising 16% year over year to $20.58 billion.
• The stock is trading near its 52-week high, and analysts remain cautiously positive overall with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a target price of $205.95; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share.

GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 96,164 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,949 shares during the quarter. GW Henssler & Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $17,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,940 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,321,214 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,343,523,000 after purchasing an additional 167,487 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 27,070,557 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,786,350,000 after purchasing an additional 534,708 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 25,018,335 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,441,505,000 after purchasing an additional 524,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $2,736,648,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:MS opened at $211.07 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $126.36 and a twelve month high of $212.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $184.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.79. The company has a market cap of $332.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.60 EPS. The business's revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Rothschild & Co Redburn lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $171.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 17th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. HSBC upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $153.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s oil-market commentary suggests prolonged supply disruption risk, which keeps investors focused on macro trading opportunities and broader market volatility that can benefit big investment banks. Morgan Stanley (MS) Says It’ll Take Four Months for Middle East Oil Production to Recover
• Positive Sentiment: MS has also been trading near its 52-week high, reflecting strong momentum and continued investor confidence after a better-than-expected earnings report earlier this year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This trade represents a 3.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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