Berkshire Bank Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Berkshire Bank trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 349 shares during the period. Berkshire Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $929,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 120,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,999,000 after buying an additional 7,407 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,343.0% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 29,813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,748,000 after buying an additional 27,747 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,827,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven equities 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $130.87 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $121.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.14. The company has a market capitalization of $209.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.48, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. The business’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 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.