Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Griffin Asset Management Inc.

Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after buying an additional 48,812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $97.19. 9,058,849 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,320,035. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $157.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.71.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Cfra lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.