Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 24.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,339 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after purchasing an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after buying an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 22,833,937 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased 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 note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 24th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.08 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $131.88. 3,816,040 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,686,540. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $119.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.20. The firm has a market cap of $211.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing 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 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.