Raymond James & Associates Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,700,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 82,147 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.10% of Morgan Stanley worth $160,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 3rd quarter worth about $369,000. Avestar Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 522 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 448,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $36,658,000 after purchasing an additional 14,521 shares during the period. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.0% during the third quarter. FAS Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 16,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,341,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baxter Bros Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the third quarter. Baxter Bros Inc. now owns 67,173 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,486,000 after buying an additional 1,589 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $92.11. The stock had a trading volume of 4,412,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,675,104. The stock has a market cap of $149.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $95.57. The business's 50-day moving average price is $89.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $85.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,355 shares of company stock valued at $22,356,602 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Cfra boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.07.

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.

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