Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 10,495 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Consultants Institutional Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $988,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 14.5% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,594,000 after acquiring an additional 13,334 shares in the last quarter. Toroso Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 28,699 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 5,868 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 57,695 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,712,000 after buying an additional 772 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,823,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $475,604,000 after buying an additional 74,499 shares during the period. Finally, First Foundation Advisors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.8% in the third quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 10,095 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $824,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total value of $1,009,008.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,368,457.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 414,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 11,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.09, for a total transaction of $1,009,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 126,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,368,457.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $2.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $102.61. 7,113,609 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,525,929. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.23. The firm has a market cap of $166.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $103.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.57% and a return on equity of 10.88%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.07.

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.