Highland Capital Management LLC Buys 4,028 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Highland Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,392 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,028 shares during the quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,413,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $324,118,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 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 $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% 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. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $140.64 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $126.50 and a 200-day moving average of $125.54. The company has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

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, 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 the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

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.

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