Goldstone Financial Group LLC Increases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Goldstone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 120,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,999,000 after purchasing an additional 7,407 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,343.0% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,748,000 after purchasing an additional 27,747 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $218,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.