Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 37.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,425 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 96,352 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,595,000 after purchasing an additional 8,814 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $292,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,923,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,350,000 after acquiring an additional 81,267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $3.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $107.88. The stock had a trading volume of 5,609,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The firm has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.