Quilter Plc Has $574,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Quilter Plc cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 4,675 shares during the period. Quilter Plc’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $574,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $139.87 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $125.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.44. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The company has a market cap of $224.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.42, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.65%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 directly 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 a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

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.