Angeles Wealth Management LLC Has $363,000 Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Angeles Wealth Management LLC cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,734 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $97.03 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $157.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $100.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $96.16.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is 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.