Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Has $595,000 Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $595,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $131.92 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $142.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a PE ratio of 16.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $120.66 and its 200-day moving average is $125.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.39% and a net margin of 12.48%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 43.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Bank of America lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.