Prio Wealth Limited Partnership Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Prio Wealth Limited Partnership reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,764 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Prio Wealth Limited Partnership’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $560,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in 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 bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $104.51 on Thursday. The stock 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. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.69.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 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 business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.79.

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.