4,766 Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS Purchased by Core Wealth Advisors LLC

Core Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $846,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.5% of Core Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 40.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 29,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,281,000 after acquiring an additional 8,512 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.1% in the third quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,019,000 after purchasing an additional 6,448 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the third quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 467,246 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,273,000 after purchasing an additional 9,056 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 52.6% in the third quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 113,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 39,104 shares during the period. Finally, A4 Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $855,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $170.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $190.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $205.95.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total transaction of $2,779,935.60. Following the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.9%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $207.74 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $183.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $327.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $126.35 and a 12-month high of $208.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.