InTrack Investment Management Inc Invests $257,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

InTrack Investment Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 2,733 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Buffington Mohr McNeal lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 100.4% during the first quarter. Buffington Mohr McNeal now owns 11,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,071,000 after purchasing an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 2,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $194,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 32.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 8,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $791,000 after buying an additional 2,078 shares during the period. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.6% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 555 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

MS traded up $0.49 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.65. 5,569,170 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,624,194. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25. The stock has a market cap of $161.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.30.

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.