Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 9.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,063,707 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 212,331 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.13% of Morgan Stanley worth $200,572,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the second 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 period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings 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 valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $100.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $96.73. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $109.11. 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 (NYSE:MS) last issued 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.61%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MS. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 quarter, 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.