Somerset Trust Co Cuts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Somerset Trust Co cut its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,919 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 109 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,555,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its stake 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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 sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays raised their target price 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. Oppenheimer lowered Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, 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, October 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $103.06.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $109.04 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $177.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.27.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company 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 quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.39%. 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. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

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.