Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 39.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,050 shares during the period. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,801,000 after buying an additional 22,095 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 61.9% in the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 64.5% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $2.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $89.14. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 18,291,601 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,302,008. The company has a market capitalization of $145.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $88.65 and a 200-day moving average of $84.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.89. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $95.57.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.72 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 9.49% and a return on equity of 10.36%. The company’s revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total value of $8,730,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,555,000. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 4,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.41, for a total transaction of $393,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 93,134 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,140,842.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.30, for a total transaction of $8,730,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 350,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,555,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 208,155 shares of company stock valued at $18,149,314. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MS shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Cfra boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $109.00 to $97.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $87.00 price target (down from $94.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.66.

Morgan Stanley 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.