May Hill Capital LLC Invests $277,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

May Hill Capital LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,205 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $277,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $144.00 to $126.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $129.87.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 13,097 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.20, for a total transaction of $1,783,811.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 197,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,891,872.80. This trade represents a 6.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.01, for a total transaction of $2,380,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 81,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,076,654.40. This trade represents a 17.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 7.6 %

Shares of MS stock traded down $8.18 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.75. 18,867,354 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,660,242. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $127.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $124.25. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $85.01 and a 1-year high of $142.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.88 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.68. The company had revenue of $16.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.03 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 14th. Investors of record on Friday, January 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 46.60%.

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.