Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Oak Harvest Investment Services

Oak Harvest Investment Services lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 121,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,683 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.0% of Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Oak Harvest Investment Services’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,418,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,845 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after acquiring an additional 48,812 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. 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 ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.55 during trading on Thursday, reaching $100.20. 3,111,960 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,510,746. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.98. The stock has a market cap of $162.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors 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 3.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

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.