Webster Bank N. A. Sells 208 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Webster Bank N. A. lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 208 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $225,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,867,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,284,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 20.3% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,094,388 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,258 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MS. HSBC upped 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. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Cfra upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’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 approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $97.19 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.76. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $103.25. 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 company has a market cap of $157.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.17 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend 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.