Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Raised by Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $606,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&R Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Corton Capital Inc. now owns 6,629 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Excalibur Management Corp increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the third quarter. Excalibur Management Corp now owns 13,516 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,104,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 14,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 26,655 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 286,835 shares in the company, valued at $25,009,143.65. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 237,855 shares of company stock valued at $21,084,057. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MS opened at $95.64 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $96.05. The stock has a market cap of $155.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.42, a PEG ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $86.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.