Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC

Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 6,366 shares during the quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.8 %

MS stock traded up $0.80 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.44. 4,159,725 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,546,206. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $99.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $94.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.