Hudock Inc. Grows Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Hudock Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 208 shares during the quarter. Hudock Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $417,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. CGC Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% in the fourth quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 260 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of MS traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $100.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,884,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,529,133. The firm has a market cap of $163.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $103.25.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.70 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio 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 transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $692,687.94. Following the sale, 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock worth $10,722,696 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.48.

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.