Klingman & Associates LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Klingman & Associates LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Klingman & Associates LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $228,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after acquiring an additional 27,845 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,857,000 after acquiring an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,987,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,337,000 after acquiring an additional 9,260 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 247.2% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 22,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after acquiring an additional 15,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,059,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,787,000 after acquiring an additional 23,991 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider now 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 is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.0 %

NYSE:MS traded up $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $103.61. The stock had a trading volume of 4,951,396 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,299,212. The company has a market capitalization of $168.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS 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 $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

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.