Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by TrueMark Investments LLC

TrueMark Investments LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,710 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 373 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.8% of TrueMark Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest position. TrueMark Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,950,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 123.2% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 442 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $97.80. 7,437,162 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,658,223. The company has a market cap of $158.94 billion, a PE ratio of 17.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $103.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $91.54. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.70 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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 3.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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. Cfra raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer raised 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, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average 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.