Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Sells 453 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,721 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 453 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Abound Wealth Management grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. 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 $247.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.21. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98.

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% 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.

About Morgan Stanley

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.