Aureus Asset Management LLC Acquires 2,651 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Aureus Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 57,717 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $108,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.8% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 306,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,801,000 after purchasing an additional 22,095 shares during the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 61.9% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 6,957 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 64.5% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 17,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,696 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 626 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the last quarter. 83.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $11,543,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,136,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $104,941,460.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $11,543,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $104,941,460.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Stanley Morgan sold 1,049,889 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $9.45, for a total transaction of $9,921,451.05. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,456,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $79,917,525.45. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,418,989 shares of company stock valued at $44,556,447 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.2 %

MS stock traded down $1.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $83.81. The company had a trading volume of 1,196,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,271,779. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $74.67 and a 52-week high of $100.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $87.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.96, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.02 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, June 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 59.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Atlantic Securities upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 1st. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Finally, Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.06.

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.