Texas Yale Capital Corp. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,893 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Texas Yale Capital Corp.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 103.2% during the 3rd quarter. Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo LLC now owns 315 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Better Money Decisions LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 118.9% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.48% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total transaction of $24,232,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,112,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $107,819,891.64. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 5,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.00, for a total transaction of $494,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 118,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,500,126. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 250,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.93, for a total value of $24,232,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,112,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at $107,819,891.64. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 317,143 shares of company stock valued at $30,730,910. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.06. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.99% and a net margin of 16.73%. The company had revenue of $12.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.16 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.775 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 30th. This represents a $3.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 50.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $90.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.28.

About Morgan Stanley

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Morgan Stanley operates as a global financial services company. The firm provides investment banking products and services to its clients and customers including corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. It operates through the following segments: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management.

Further Reading

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