Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $88.42 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 939,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,114 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $88,422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $312,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $223,000. DGS Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 53.2% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 7,411 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $698,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.2 %

NYSE MS traded down $1.12 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,420,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,630,869. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The company has a market capitalization of $155.64 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.58.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was 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 directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.