Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Manchester Capital Management LLC

Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 202 shares during the quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $512,867,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in 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 worth $2,284,674,000 after purchasing an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $159,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.07.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,148,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,473,125. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $105.82. The business has a fifty day moving average of $98.17 and a 200 day moving average of $92.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market capitalization of $170.45 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.