Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,834,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 242,896 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.54% of Morgan Stanley worth $858,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second 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 period. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE:MS opened at $98.25 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company has a market cap of $159.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $96.40.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

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.