Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Edge Capital Group LLC

Edge Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 232,443 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,992 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley comprises approximately 1.1% of Edge Capital Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Edge Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,591,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $102.47 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $100.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.78. 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 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

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.