Somerset Trust Co Sells 441 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Somerset Trust Co lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 441 shares during the quarter. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.0% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 46,907,341 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,118,465,000 after purchasing an additional 913,447 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,013,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,371,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,768 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,258,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,973,640,000 after purchasing an additional 97,672 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 114.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,059,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,024,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,321,786 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the first quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,315,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,695,930,000 after purchasing an additional 314,567 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.38. 1,282,682 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,282,444. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $74.67 and a one year high of $100.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $86.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.04. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 10.99%. The business had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 repurchase up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 59.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total value of $11,898,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $96,269,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total value of $11,898,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at approximately $96,269,930.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.00, for a total transaction of $1,242,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 82,984 shares in the company, valued at $7,634,528. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 369,100 shares of company stock valued at $34,634,996 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. HSBC began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, September 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Atlantic Securities upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. Finally, Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.22.

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.