Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 558 shares during the quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 23,474,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,917,159,000 after buying an additional 4,098,577 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,250,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,888,380,000 after buying an additional 517,446 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 20,197,232 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,883,392,000 after buying an additional 575,114 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,107,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,070,528,000 after buying an additional 277,909 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $958,105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $0.61 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $100.92. 2,188,067 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,132,956. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $93.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $103.25. The company has a market capitalization of $164.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.41.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.83 EPS 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MS. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.