Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 37,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 996 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.9%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $129.44 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $207.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $142.03.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.48% and a return on equity of 14.39%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $133.23.

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.