Lmcg Investments LLC Boosts Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lmcg Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 782 shares during the quarter. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

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 transaction, 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 can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $162.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.11. 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’s 50 day moving average is $100.49 and its 200 day moving average is $96.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. 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 report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their target price 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. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.