Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 33.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 49,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 25,193 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,796,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS opened at $102.47 on Friday. 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 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $109.11. The stock has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $100.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

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.