Quilter Plc Sells 4,675 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Quilter Plc lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 48.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,920 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,675 shares during the quarter. Quilter Plc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $574,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 21,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven equities 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of MS opened at $139.87 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. 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 has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $125.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.44.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 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 for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.65%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 now owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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