Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Increased by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,700,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 82,147 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $160,083,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its position in shares of 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. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $92.11. 4,412,000 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,675,104. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $89.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.58. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $149.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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. The company 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 10.87%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. HSBC boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total value of $393,345.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares in the company, valued at $8,140,842.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’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 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,355 shares of company stock worth $22,356,602. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.