Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 28,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,670,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Union Savings Bank lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MS opened at $104.54 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.26. The company has a market cap of $169.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.90% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 61.93%.

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.