Wright Investors Service Inc. Sells 5,030 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Wright Investors Service Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 28.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,538 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,030 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded up $3.31 on Friday, hitting $107.88. 5,609,161 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.31 and a 200-day moving average of $97.94. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.68.

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.