Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. Sells 1,162 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,708 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,162 shares during the period. Beese Fulmer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $97.57 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market cap of $158.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.