Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Lessened by Lifestyle Asset Management Inc.

Lifestyle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,172 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 237 shares during the period. Lifestyle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Institute for Wealth Management LLC. now owns 17,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,846,000 after purchasing an additional 27,845 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after buying an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $615,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.5 %

MS traded up $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.12. The company had a trading volume of 3,111,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,588,666. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $96.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.92. The company has a market capitalization of $162.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TheStreet raised Morgan Stanley from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Cfra raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.48.

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.