Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Hits New 12-Month Low - Should You Sell?

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $112.03 and last traded at $115.50, with a volume of 6495660 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $115.29.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank lowered Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.7 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $191.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $115.02 and a 200-day moving average of $124.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

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

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.