Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 402.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,571 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,477 shares during the quarter. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,400,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. 1ST Source Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Insight Inv LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE MS traded up $1.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $143.06. The stock had a trading volume of 5,622,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,692,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $229.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $131.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.60.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company'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 transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently 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.