Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 127,645 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 212.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 187,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 127,645 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the company’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 transaction of $95,456.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $137.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market capitalization of $221.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $125.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.37.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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.