Stolper Co Sells 256 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Stolper Co cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,532 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 256 shares during the quarter. Stolper Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $87,558,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $85,535,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $110.16 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $110.29. The stock has a market cap of $179.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $100.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% 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.