Lansing Street Advisors Has $1.18 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lansing Street Advisors lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 173 shares during the quarter. Lansing Street Advisors’ holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,184,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MS opened at $97.03 on Thursday. 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 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $100.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target 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. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. 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. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.