Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Chairman Sells $9,021,000.00 in Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.66. The company had a trading volume of 8,134,663 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,904,789. The company’s 50-day moving average is $88.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.85. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $95.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The company has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business 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 posted $1.70 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norden Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2,355.6% in the 1st quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 138,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,041,000 after purchasing an additional 132,856 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 1,134 shares during the period. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $10,804,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 67,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the period. Finally, Marest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $363,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.90.

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.