Chemung Canal Trust Co. Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Chemung Canal Trust Co. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,360 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Chemung Canal Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OLD National Bancorp IN increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 8,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,177,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 129.9% in the 2nd quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. MBL Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $237,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 15,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,188,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diligent Investors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 14,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,002,000 after acquiring an additional 307 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $157.40 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $150.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.53. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $152.92.

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.