Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Reduced by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 29.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,949 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,734 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,857,000 after acquiring an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $99.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $161.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $103.25. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $96.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Cfra boosted their price objective 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. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

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.