Summit Financial LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 68.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 46,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,829 shares during the quarter. Summit Financial LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,516,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 622.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 48,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after acquiring an additional 42,033 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $606,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 5,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Fin Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $276,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 %

MS stock traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,951,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,177,900. The company has a market cap of $168.38 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $100.50 and its 200-day moving average is $95.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

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.