Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Short Interest Update

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 16,390,000 shares, an increase of 26.2% from the July 15th total of 12,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,430,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.8 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $101.44. 4,159,725 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,546,206. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $99.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $94.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a market cap of $164.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, HSBC lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 transaction of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 transaction of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,553 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.