Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Community Trust & Investment Co.

Community Trust & Investment Co. raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 32,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 114.8% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,059,090 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,589,000 after purchasing an additional 12,321,786 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $956,566,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 125,756.8% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,641,190 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $904,714,000 after purchasing an additional 10,632,735 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $451,711,000. Finally, Providence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $46,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 136,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,615,166.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total transaction of $517,496.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,615,166.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares in the company, valued at $104,941,460.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $88.61. The company had a trading volume of 1,231,387 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,328,439. The company has a 50 day moving average of $87.47 and a 200-day moving average of $86.76. 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 firm has a market cap of $146.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35.

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, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $13.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, June 30th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.85 per share. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 59.96%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Odeon Capital Group upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, July 12th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 18th. Atlantic Securities upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock 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 research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.