Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Toronto Dominion Bank

Toronto Dominion Bank reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 281,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 68,283 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,374,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $594,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 13,290 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,671,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded down $0.29 on Friday, reaching $127.87. 6,434,557 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,706,065. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $205.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $117.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued 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 2.89%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on 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. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, 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. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $132.46.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. 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 insiders.

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.