KPP Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

KPP Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 36.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,921 shares during the quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,278,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reaffirmed 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MS stock traded up $2.15 on Thursday, hitting $139.87. The stock had a trading volume of 6,012,657 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,678,783. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $125.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.37. The company has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.42, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given 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 2.65%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.