Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Chairman James P. Gorman Sells 100,000 Shares

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $90.66 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $88.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.92. The stock has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a PE ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.87% and a net margin of 9.57%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.70 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $116.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $97.90.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 39.2% in the 1st quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,118 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $482,000 after buying an additional 1,442 shares during the period. American National Bank & Trust Co. VA purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $402,000. FCG Investment Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $204,000. Oak Harvest Investment Services raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 48.6% in the 1st quarter. Oak Harvest Investment Services now owns 121,257 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,418,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 31,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,000,000 after buying an additional 4,085 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.