Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Position Raised by Alaethes Wealth LLC

Alaethes Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 21,744 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Alaethes Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after buying an additional 5,631,435 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after acquiring an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,228,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,886,292,000 after acquiring an additional 495,055 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after acquiring an additional 303,654 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,061,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,973,000 after purchasing an additional 979,250 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 3.61%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Morgan Stanley 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.