Brown Financial Advisors Takes Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 20,143 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,958,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.0% during the 4th quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,330 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 2,502 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Cornerstone Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $223,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 18,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,731,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holderness Investments Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $370,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $104.42 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. 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 50-day moving average price of $100.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.64. The stock has a market cap of $169.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share 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 dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost 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 3.54%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

About Morgan Stanley

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.