American Century Companies Inc. Sells 44,264 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,153,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 44,264 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $112,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup increased their target price 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, Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $98.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $159.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a 50 day moving average of $100.55 and a 200 day moving average of $96.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

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.