Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 91.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,078 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,778 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,543,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company'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 sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $131.92. 4,258,657 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,678,781. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.25. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month 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 has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.23.

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.