Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC

Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares during the period. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during 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. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $97.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,056,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,642,376. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Cfra raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve equities 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. 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.