Hennessy Advisors Inc. Buys 2,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,845,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,284,674,000 after buying an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,380,000 after purchasing an additional 517,446 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,883,392,000 after purchasing an additional 575,114 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $958,105,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $96.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,948,660 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,593,120. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $96.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.58. The company has a market capitalization of $156.83 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $103.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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