Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Acadian Asset Management LLC

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18,827.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 236,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 234,969 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd 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 acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $98.18 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.08. The company has a market capitalization of $159.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 0.99 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 issued its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.