Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 2,418 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,864 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,417,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.31 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $161.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average price is $100.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.61. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.73%. 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%.

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.