Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 987 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,463,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 328.0% during the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 11,295 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $383,000 after purchasing an additional 476 shares during the last quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 110,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 16,165 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,507,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now 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 available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $98.18 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $109.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.08. The company has a market cap of $159.56 billion, a PE ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase 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.