Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by AE Wealth Management LLC

AE Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,242 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,484 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,093,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. King Luther Capital Management Corp raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 26.7% during the 2nd quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,437,000 after acquiring an additional 3,116 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 115.9% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 17,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after purchasing an additional 9,459 shares during the period. GM Advisory Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.8% in the second quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC now owns 4,850 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.1% in the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 111,229 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,810,000 after purchasing an additional 6,389 shares during the period. Finally, Leuthold Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $6,495,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2 %

MS opened at $102.64 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $97.08. 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 company has a market cap of $166.81 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business 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 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MS shares. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted 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 equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

About Morgan Stanley

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.