Fortem Financial Group LLC Sells 300 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fortem Financial Group LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $382,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 28,084 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 913 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 6,494 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $398,000. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 33.7% during the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 88,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,234,000 after acquiring an additional 22,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 25,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,387,000 after purchasing an additional 3,376 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 4.2 %

NYSE MS opened at $99.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.66 and its 200-day moving average is $95.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.