Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 969,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,827 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $113,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $132.45 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $123.16 and a 200-day moving average of $125.23. The company has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year 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 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

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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