Annex Advisory Services LLC Has $34.06 Million Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 291,900 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 39,186 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.0% of Annex Advisory Services LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE MS opened at $128.33 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $205.88 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. 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. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $132.46.

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.