Earnest Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 50.5% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 109,069 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 111,429 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Union Savings Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded down $1.71 during trading on Monday, hitting $102.48. The stock had a trading volume of 5,170,185 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,641,724. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.26.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.18.

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.