Mayfair Advisory Group LLC Sells 213 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mayfair Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 213 shares during the quarter. Mayfair Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS opened at $130.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $125.17. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $142.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $133.23.

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.