Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 2,078 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 32.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,078 shares during the quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after buying an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in 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 buying an additional 27,845 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,857,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th 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 period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $99.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $161.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $103.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.86.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Oppenheimer increased their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 value of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.