Copeland Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Copeland Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 167,768 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,435 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $338,000 after buying an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $145,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 17,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kovack Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 6,081 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $765,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,240,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,677,255. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $126.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $225.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

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.