Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. Sells 2,250 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,250 shares during the period. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,126,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after buying an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Goldstone Financial Group LLC now owns 6,064 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New England Research & Management Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 15,694 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $129.44 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $121.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $125.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of $207.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $142.03.

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

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 43.43%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 199,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% 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 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $125.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $133.23.

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.