Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 53.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 956,286 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 331,314 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $111,570,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI cut 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $137.78 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $221.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $125.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's 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 owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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