Connors Investor Services Inc. Has $24.87 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 47,320 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 2.3% of Connors Investor Services Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Connors Investor Services Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank cut Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $3.47 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $120.23. 6,894,394 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,692,404. The business's 50-day moving average price is $115.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $124.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. 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 market capitalization of $193.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley 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.