Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 332,626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 70,486 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $32,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.8 %

MS opened at $100.93 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $99.51 and a 200-day moving average of $94.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly 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 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.67%. 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 payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.