Bank & Trust Co Purchases New Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during 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 period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during 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 period. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 accessible through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $92.95. The stock had a trading volume of 6,067,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,630,659. The company has a market capitalization of $151.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $99.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11.

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, 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $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 business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. 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.