Scarborough Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,845 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $97.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $95.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.84. The firm has a market cap of $157.71 billion, a PE ratio of 17.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick 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 $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cfra lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.30.

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.