River Street Advisors LLC Purchases 2,991 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,385 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,991 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises 1.2% of River Street Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. River Street Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company'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 value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $132.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.29. 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 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $123.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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 for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $133.62.

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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