Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Rehmann Capital Advisory Group

Rehmann Capital Advisory Group decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 181 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. West Paces Advisors Inc. now owns 1,283 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.9% during the 1st quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO now owns 1,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $1.40 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $104.86. 1,510,179 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,460,210. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $105.13.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 3.24%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Cfra increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. HSBC upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $99.07.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 transaction, the chairman now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.