Greystone Financial Group LLC Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Greystone Financial Group LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 8.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 96,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 9,246 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.8% of Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Greystone Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,386,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 328.0% in the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11,295 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,328,000. Berger Financial Group Inc lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 6,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $572,000 after purchasing an additional 481 shares during the period. Calton & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $443,000. Finally, Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 54.3% during the fourth quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 86,672 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,082,000 after buying an additional 30,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’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 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. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS traded down $2.97 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.59. 9,246,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,272,226. The company has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $95.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup lifted 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.45.

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.