Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 20.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,011 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 759 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $293,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $98.25 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $159.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is currently 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.