Main Street Financial Solutions LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Main Street Financial Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,476 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MS opened at $98.25 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The company has a market cap of $159.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective 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 Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

About Morgan Stanley

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.