Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Lessened by Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,250 shares during the quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after buying an additional 696,646 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after buying an additional 604,024 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares in 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 valued at $2,870,683,000 after buying an additional 428,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.44 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $121.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.14. The company has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research 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 report on Monday, March 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.23.

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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