Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Firestone Capital Management

Firestone Capital Management increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,392 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the quarter. Firestone Capital Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $100.09 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $162.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $100.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.50. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS 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 paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MS. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

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.