RFG Advisory LLC Acquires 4,181 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 184.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,449 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,181 shares during the quarter. RFG Advisory LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $132.46.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $130.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $118.34 and a 200-day moving average of $125.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 2.83%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

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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