Rhumbline Advisers Sells 58,041 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,312,815 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 58,041 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned approximately 0.14% of Morgan Stanley worth $269,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE MS traded up $0.30 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.70. 4,145,567 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,683,521. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $117.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $206.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

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.