Leavell Investment Management Inc. Buys 1,175 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 22,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,175 shares during the quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,182,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.20 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $100.64. 5,872,111 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,567,791. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $99.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.14. The company has a market cap of $163.56 billion, a PE ratio of 18.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (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 11.90%. The business 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 firm posted $1.24 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is an increase 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 is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One 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. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.