TIAA Trust National Association Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

TIAA Trust National Association reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 70.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 48,206 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 113,018 shares during the quarter. TIAA Trust National Association’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.6% in the first quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. now owns 14,839 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,397,000 after acquiring an additional 1,658 shares during the last quarter. Glaxis Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $471,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 13,048 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 164,752 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $15,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $1,466,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 255,454 shares of company stock worth $26,870,683. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped 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. Bank of America lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.59 on Monday, reaching $102.68. 3,104,245 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,639,212. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $99.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.89. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company has a market cap of $166.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.