Hartline Investment Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 81,614 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,148 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.3% of Hartline Investment Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Hartline Investment Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,522,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley
In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1%
Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $144.50 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $129.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.93. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $144.56. The company has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Evercore ISI decreased their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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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