Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Sandy Cove Advisors LLC

Sandy Cove Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,504 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 18,075 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.5% of Sandy Cove Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Sandy Cove Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $512,867,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 24,499,542 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,284,674,000 after acquiring an additional 1,865,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 20.3% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 7,094,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $659,251,000 after acquiring an additional 1,195,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $101.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "c+" rating to a "b" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.30.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.19. The company had a trading volume of 9,058,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,320,035. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.81. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week 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 stock has a market cap of $157.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.