Hennessy Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,800 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $324,118,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $2.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $129.44. The stock had a trading volume of 4,367,543 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,698,674. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $121.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $207.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents 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 ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.