Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 35.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 205 shares during the quarter. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the fourth 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 increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,987,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $185,337,000 after purchasing an additional 9,260 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 247.2% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 22,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,083,000 after buying an additional 15,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,059,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $98,787,000 after buying an additional 23,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $101.10. 1,122,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,258,968. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.66 and its 200 day moving average is $95.72. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.30 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, 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 worth $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.