Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.

Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 18.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,001 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” 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 note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities 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, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Friday. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average price of $100.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.78. The company has a market cap of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. 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 3.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. 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.