Arista Wealth Management LLC Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Arista Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 4,815 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after buying an additional 27,845 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $118,857,000 after buying an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,987,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,337,000 after acquiring an additional 9,260 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 247.2% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 22,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 15,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,059,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,787,000 after purchasing an additional 23,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $102.47 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.29 and a 200-day moving average of $96.73. 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 company has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. 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 yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

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.