Annex Advisory Services LLC Has $34.06 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.5% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 291,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,186 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.0% of Annex Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $128.33 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $205.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.