Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA Purchases 11,421 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 45,281 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,421 shares during the quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,963,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,400,000 after buying an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 14,283 shares during the period. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in 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 worth $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 21,090 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MS traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $131.92. 4,258,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,683,754. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The company has a market cap of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $120.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.25. 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 posted its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business'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 value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven research 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.23.

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.