Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Annex Advisory Services LLC

Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 261,119 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,453 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises 0.9% of Annex Advisory Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. Annex Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $110.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. 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 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $111.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $101.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.52.

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 11.85%. The firm 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 posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 60.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.06.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.