Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells $1,009,008.00 in Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.66. 8,134,663 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,904,789. The company has a 50 day moving average of $88.82 and a 200-day moving average of $84.85. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.43. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norden Group LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2,355.6% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 138,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,041,000 after purchasing an additional 132,856 shares during the last quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.8% during the first quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC now owns 5,067 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,134 shares during the last quarter. Svenska Handelsbanken AB publ acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $10,804,000. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 67,681 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,373,000 after purchasing an additional 2,026 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marest Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $363,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. HSBC lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 target price (down previously from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $97.90.

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.