Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,373 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 528 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Union Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $95.85. The stock had a trading volume of 11,120,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. The firm has a market cap of $155.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month 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, 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective 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. 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

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.