Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Position Boosted by Fiduciary Alliance LLC

Fiduciary Alliance LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 115,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 18,658 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 1.3% of Fiduciary Alliance LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Fiduciary Alliance LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $13,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,804,000 after purchasing an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $5,686,000. Finally, NatWest Group plc bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $8,052,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, 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 value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $128.70. 4,145,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,683,521. The stock's fifty day moving average is $117.61 and its 200 day moving average is $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $206.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. 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 announced its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley 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.