Fairscale Capital LLC Buys Shares of 2,195 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Fairscale Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 approximately $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of MS opened at $102.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $96.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. 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%.

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.