Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Blue Chip Partners LLC

Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 272,465 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,819 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 2.7% of Blue Chip Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 77.3% during the third 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 during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 220.6% during the third quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.19, for a total value of $2,324,049.45. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 286,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,009,143.65. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $92.83. The stock had a trading volume of 4,606,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,720,944. 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 capitalization of $151.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $89.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.48. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 2nd. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. Finally, Cfra increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve research 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Morgan Stanley 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.