Appleton Partners Inc. MA Acquires 396 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Appleton Partners Inc. MA raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,732 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.2% of Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of 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 during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $104.51 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $100.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $97.69. The firm has a market cap 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.925 per share. 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 dividend yield of 3.54%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, 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 value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.