Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 386.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 19,586 shares during the period. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,877,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.9% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 529 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 39,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,996,000 after buying an additional 13,711 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,972,000 after buying an additional 5,038 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% 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 the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reissued 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, reaching $144.50. 3,974,691 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,680,902. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $144.56. The company's 50-day moving average is $129.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $125.93. 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 $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

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.