Cape ANN Savings Bank Sells 245 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Cape ANN Savings Bank reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 10,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.9% of Cape ANN Savings Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Cape ANN Savings Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the period. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 113.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $149.15.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $157.40 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $251.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $150.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% 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.