Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY

Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 881 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.1% of Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Burns J W & Co. Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,763,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 913,447 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 27,013,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,371,814,000 after purchasing an additional 1,604,768 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 23,258,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,973,640,000 after buying an additional 97,672 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 114.8% during the 1st 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 during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 19,315,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,695,930,000 after acquiring an additional 314,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. HSBC began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. They set a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 12th. Finally, Atlantic Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.22.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $88.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $146.99 billion, a PE ratio of 15.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $74.67 and a 12-month high of $100.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $87.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm 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. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 31st were issued a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 28th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, June 30th that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 12.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total transaction of $517,496.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.