Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Purchases 23,387 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 23,387 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.7% of Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,491,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. 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 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.64 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.08. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.