James P. Gorman Sells 100,000 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $90.66 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $88.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $95.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $147.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MS. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,801,000 after buying an additional 22,095 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 64.5% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after buying an additional 6,696 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.07.

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.