Raymond James Trust N.A. Has $3.15 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Raymond James Trust N.A. lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 32,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 311 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE MS traded up $0.66 on Monday, reaching $102.55. The company had a trading volume of 336,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,378,811. The company’s fifty day moving average is $99.96 and its 200-day moving average is $94.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

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.