Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Fulton Bank N.A.

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,948 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 472 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,494,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MS. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $132.46.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $128.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $205.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $117.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $125.27. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.