Gries Financial LLC Has $2.53 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Gries Financial LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,995 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 397 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,526,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $1.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $100.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,272,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,259,847. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.72. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 completion of 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

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.