Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Has $425,000 Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 83.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,645 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,026 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE MS traded up $2.37 on Thursday, reaching $130.53. The stock had a trading volume of 6,193,141 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,676,486. The company has a market capitalization of $209.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $118.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.32.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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

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.