Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Easterly Investment Partners LLC

Easterly Investment Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 97.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 3,267 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 154,302 shares during the period. Easterly Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $102.15. 754,227 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,382,271. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.90. The company has a market cap of $166.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 1.05 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. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was 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 owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.