Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Berkshire Bank

Berkshire Bank increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,926 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $746,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CGC Financial Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $101.53. 8,417,814 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,194,770. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $93.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $165.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.49, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.41. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $103.25.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now 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 worth $10,722,696 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.