Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Miracle Mile Advisors LLC

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,504 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 726 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $707,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,845 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $615,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MS traded up $1.97 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $99.16. The stock had a trading volume of 6,542,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,633,599. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.81. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $103.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The company has a market capitalization of $161.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.30.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.