Pathstone Holdings LLC Purchases 2,152 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 170,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,152 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $21,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $131.00 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $142.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $124.98. The company has a market capitalization of $210.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.50, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $138.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus 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.