Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Makes New Investment in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $628,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $512,867,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $159,714,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.0 %

MS opened at $103.63 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The stock has a market cap of $168.42 billion, a PE ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $100.35 and a 200-day moving average of $95.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 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 analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 dividend yield of 3.57%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is owned by 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.