Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Trimmed by Profund Advisors LLC

Profund Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.4% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,204 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 449 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS stock opened at $102.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The company has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.