Mattson Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 34,074 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 34,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,312,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.2% of Mattson Financial Services LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashburton Jersey Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $1,798,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.2% during the 2nd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 6,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $659,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 165.0% in the second quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 331,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,189,000 after buying an additional 206,200 shares in the last quarter. Lazari Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $526,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $14,731,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.79.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $104.51 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.69. The stock has a market cap of $169.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 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.