Decatur Capital Management Inc. Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Decatur Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the quarter. Decatur Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

MS opened at $102.34 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.08. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market cap of $166.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, 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 the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business 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 anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. 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. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.