Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Y.D. More Investments Ltd

Y.D. More Investments Ltd boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 175.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,045 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 665 shares during the quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.4 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $96.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.