BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases 14,603 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 170,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,603 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $1.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $103.63. 4,951,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,299,212. The company has a market cap of $168.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.23.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley 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.