Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Buys 5,785 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 460,730 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 0.8% of Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $53,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,774,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $143.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,462,907 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,791,441. The stock has a market cap of $229.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $135.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.74.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.