Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 272 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,297 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $385,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:MS 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 business’s 50-day moving average price is $120.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.61, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.02 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $133.23.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 335,765 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 96,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This represents a 0.82% 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 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.