Northeast Investment Management Decreases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Northeast Investment Management cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,589 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 285 shares during the quarter. Northeast Investment Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,390,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.20. 2,835,823 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,337,293. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.13. The firm has a market cap of $166.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.62, 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 posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS 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 11.90%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

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.