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 the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $90.66 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $95.57. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $88.92 and its 200 day moving average is $84.92. The company has a market cap of $147.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued 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 of this dividend is Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. CGC Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5,200.0% during the 4th quarter. CGC Financial Services LLC now owns 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 260 shares in the last quarter. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 77.3% in the third quarter. Glass Jacobson Investment Advisors llc now owns 328 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 810.8% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Cfra raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $97.90.

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.