Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $791,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. 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 period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during 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. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MS opened at $99.65 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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, Cfra upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.