Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Greystone Financial Group LLC

Greystone Financial Group LLC lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,042 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 2.1% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $11,418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This trade represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $131.89 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $118.66 and a 200-day moving average of $125.18. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The stock has a market cap of $211.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

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.