Morgan Stanley $MS is Connors Investor Services Inc.’s 8th Largest Position

Connors Investor Services Inc. decreased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 132,363 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,403 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 2.0% of Connors Investor Services Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $23,489,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 65.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 185 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $201.18 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $179.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. The firm has a market cap of $317.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $123.88 and a twelve month high of $203.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.02 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.23 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.23%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total value of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 169,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762 in the last quarter. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $214.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $207.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Morgan Stanley from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Argus boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Seeking Alpha flagged that Morgan Stanley was upgraded to Buy after its strong first-quarter results, reinforcing the view that recent earnings momentum is still supporting the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent coverage also noted that Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) ahead of the GTA VI release, underscoring continued active equity-research influence and a generally constructive tone from the bank’s analysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley’s own recent stock commentary said MS has delivered a strong one-year rally, with investors still debating valuation versus earnings power rather than reacting to any single new company-specific surprise. Article Title

Morgan Stanley Profile

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company’s chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm’s primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.