Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lessened by Clifford Group LLC

Clifford Group LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,991 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.5% of Clifford Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Clifford Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $471,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 111,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,810,000 after acquiring an additional 6,389 shares in the last quarter. Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $6,495,000. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.6% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 13,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,332,000 after acquiring an additional 1,080 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth $5,414,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of MS opened at $100.73 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $100.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.64.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s 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.