Toronto Dominion Bank Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Toronto Dominion Bank cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 67.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 572,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,183,652 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $53,863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6 %

MS traded up $0.63 during trading on Friday, hitting $104.19. The company had a trading volume of 6,113,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,658,935. The company has a market cap of $169.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.58 and a 200-day moving average of $93.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick 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 issued its 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. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.18.

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.