Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 343,226 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $32,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley 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 value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 126,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.49 during midday 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 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $103.25. The stock has a market cap of $161.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Bank of America raised 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. Cfra upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. TheStreet raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.