EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 115 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,787 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MS. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on 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 raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $102.47 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average is $100.29 and its 200 day moving average is $96.86. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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.