Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Acquires 5,679 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 35,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,679 shares during the quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,681,778,000 after buying an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 20,228,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,886,292,000 after buying an additional 495,055 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,875,677 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,251,387,000 after acquiring an additional 303,654 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 9,061,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $844,973,000 after acquiring an additional 979,250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $162.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.49 and a 200-day moving average of $96.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.