Net Worth Advisory Group Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Net Worth Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,759 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,568 shares during the quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,139,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on 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. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Eleven 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.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $131.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $120.03 and a 200 day moving average of $125.25. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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.