Bank of Stockton Cuts Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bank of Stockton reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 296 shares during the quarter. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ethic Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 499,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,804,000 after buying an additional 14,283 shares in the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,513,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,686,000. Finally, Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 21,090 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $137.78 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a market cap of $221.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $125.26 and a 200-day moving average of $125.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 2.69%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

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.