Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Acquires 18,180 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 419.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 22,510 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,180 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 69.0% during the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 8,964 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,263,000 after buying an additional 3,661 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 90.9% during the second quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,378,000 after buying an additional 7,688 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 263,575 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $37,127,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jupiter Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the second quarter. Jupiter Wealth Management LLC now owns 52,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,805,000 after buying an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $207.74 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $126.35 and a one year high of $208.08. The company has a market cap of $327.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $183.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.60 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 36.23%.

Trending Headlines about Morgan Stanley

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley was highlighted in coverage of U.S. banks near record highs, with the firm benefiting from accelerating earnings and sales growth across the sector. Morgan Stanley Joins Elite List As Stock Hits Highs; Goldman Sachs Rides Massive Deals Wave
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analyst and valuation commentary has reinforced the bull case, with investors focusing on Morgan Stanley’s strong earnings revisions and upgraded outlook after a solid quarterly beat. A Look At Morgan Stanley (MS) Valuation As Analyst Upgrades And Earnings Revisions Lift Confidence
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Morgan Stanley from “strong-buy” to “hold,” which may cap some upside, but the market appears to be looking past that call for now. Zacks.com

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. This represents a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at $32,313,622.25. This trade represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 77,476 shares of company stock worth $14,644,762. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Citizens Jmp restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $173.00 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $219.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $189.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $205.95.

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.