Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Bouvel Investment Partners LLC

Bouvel Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 25,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the quarter. Bouvel Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,436,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 939,065 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $88,422,000 after buying an additional 35,114 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $312,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $223,000. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 53.2% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 1,252 shares during the period. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $94,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value 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. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, HSBC raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.41. The stock had a trading volume of 353,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,572,191. The company has a market capitalization of $156.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.58. 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 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

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.