Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Summit Trail Advisors LLC

Summit Trail Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,106 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,530 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH increased its position 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. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley 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 value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Evercore ISI raised their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. 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.