Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Calamos Wealth Management LLC

Calamos Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 75,771 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 20,963 shares during the quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,840,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 worth $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after buying an additional 21,090 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, 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. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% 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 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $144.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $144.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $129.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.93.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

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

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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