Massachusetts Wealth Management Purchases 150 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Massachusetts Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Massachusetts Wealth Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 120,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,999,000 after buying an additional 7,407 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,343.0% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,748,000 after buying an additional 27,747 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 1,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9%

MS stock opened at $129.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $121.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.18. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.