Grimes & Company Inc. Has $407,000 Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Grimes & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 36.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 767 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MS. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $155.84 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $150.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.04. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $248.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.65, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley 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.