MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Sells 8,801 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,825 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,801 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,196,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $774,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Monday, April 14th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $129.44 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The firm's fifty day moving average is $121.25 and its 200 day moving average is $125.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share 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 $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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