Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC Acquires 168 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $523,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $137.78 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $142.03. The company has a market capitalization of $221.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.29. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $125.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $125.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.62.

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.