Welch Group LLC Has $205,000 Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Welch Group LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 340 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $205,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. M&R Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $188,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 1,985 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Cfra boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $97.46 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $158.39 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $95.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.05.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.