Lynx Investment Advisory Buys Shares of 313 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Union Savings Bank raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Cfra boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. HSBC raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $0.07 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $92.90. The stock had a trading volume of 4,004,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,605,749. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $99.46 and its 200 day moving average is $93.84. The stock has a market cap of $150.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.