Brown Advisory Inc. Purchases 1,346 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 156,277 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,346 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $91,000. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,495,000. Bearing Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $737,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 25,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 147.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 8,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,075,000 after purchasing an additional 5,093 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $132.46.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $118.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $114.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $124.75. The firm has a market cap of $191.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.92, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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.