Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stake Increased by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 42.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,411 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Union Savings Bank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. Cfra boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded down $5.91 on Friday, reaching $95.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,120,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $155.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $99.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.73.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

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.