Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY Sells 20,073 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 260,351 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,073 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 3.4% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $30,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 42.7% during the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 823 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.5% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 56,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,048,000 after purchasing an additional 24,477 shares in the last quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $589,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 17,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,159,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $132.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.21. The firm has a market cap of $212.67 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley 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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