Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 212.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 127,645 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 25.6% during the 1st quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $292,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.4% during the 1st quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,623 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $147,000. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 5,940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $693,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 143.3% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,520 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 3,840 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value 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 represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.89 during trading on Friday, reaching $140.64. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,240,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,677,255. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $225.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.51.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.63%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

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.