Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Purchases 308 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,414 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $104.51 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $100.21 and a 200 day moving average of $97.69.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.54%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.79.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.