DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 692,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,921 shares during the quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $64,687,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays lifted 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. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Cfra increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. One 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, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 5.8 %

NYSE:MS traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.85. The stock had a trading volume of 11,120,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $99.71 and a 200 day moving average of $93.61. The company has a market capitalization of $155.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.