Gradient Investments LLC Purchases 14,973 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 363,672 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 14,973 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,243,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 18,896 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,543,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,400 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $87.00 target price (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related 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 transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total transaction of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1 %

MS stock traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $93.64. The company had a trading volume of 5,043,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,976,032. The company has a market capitalization of $152.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.06, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $90.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company 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 posted $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.

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