Wallace Advisory Group LLC Buys 179 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wallace Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Wallace Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 123.2% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Union Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Cfra lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $97.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.24 and a 200-day moving average of $91.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $158.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.48%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% 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.