Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Decreased by Consolidated Investment Group LLC

Consolidated Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,215 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,385 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 0.9% of Consolidated Investment Group LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Consolidated Investment Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,742,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 2,750 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 823 shares during the period. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 56,065 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,048,000 after buying an additional 24,477 shares during the period. Forte Capital LLC ADV boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Forte Capital LLC ADV now owns 4,685 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $589,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 17,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,159,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $132.56 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $212.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.29. The stock's 50-day moving average is $123.65 and its 200-day moving average is $125.21. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio 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.

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