Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Capital International Ltd. CA

Capital International Ltd. CA decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 45.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 27,886 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,781 shares during the quarter. Capital International Ltd. CA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,626,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 364,712 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $34,009,000 after buying an additional 19,614 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 83,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,755,000 after purchasing an additional 2,297 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 88.9% during the 4th quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 661 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.7% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,650 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 17,062 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,591,000 after purchasing an additional 4,139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.63 on Friday, reaching $104.19. The stock had a trading volume of 6,113,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,658,935. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $109.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $99.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $93.24. 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 stock has a market cap of $169.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Cfra upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.18.

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.