Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Position Boosted by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 373.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,373 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 11,338 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,677,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after buying an additional 2,728,693 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $324,118,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $131.92. 4,258,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,683,754. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $120.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.25. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The firm has a market cap of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MS. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.