Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors Cuts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,261 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.9% of Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors' holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Vanguard Capital Wealth Advisors' holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,547,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over 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 company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $131.95. The company had a trading volume of 4,838,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,689,539. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.16. The stock has a market cap of $211.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

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.