Lynx Investment Advisory Purchases Shares of 313 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 313 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $30,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,585,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,867,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $159,714,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $92.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,004,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,605,749. The company has a market cap of $150.98 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $99.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $93.84. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.