Larson Financial Group LLC Purchases 2,351 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 93.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,351 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.56 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. 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 (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

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.