Rockland Trust Co. Buys 364 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,725 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 364 shares during the quarter. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,014,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $3.31 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $107.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,609,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,093,391. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.87. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The stock has a market cap of $175.32 billion, a PE ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $102.68.

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.