Insider Selling: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells 3,500 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Mandell Crawley also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Tuesday, May 14th, Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of Morgan Stanley stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total transaction of $692,687.94.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $104.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $169.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.98, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $99.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.26. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business 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%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.55%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 61.93%.

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.18.

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.