Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Schear Investment Advisers LLC

Schear Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,496 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,687 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 1.1% of Schear Investment Advisers LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Schear Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,925,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,123.3% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. BankPlus Trust Department increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. BankPlus Trust Department now owns 4,429 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,066 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 54,253 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $6,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Fort Sheridan Advisors LLC now owns 5,256 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $136.69.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6%

MS stock opened at $142.25 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The firm has a market cap of $228.21 billion, a PE ratio of 16.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $126.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. 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 analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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