King Luther Capital Management Corp Increases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 26.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,790 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,116 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased 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 raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the second quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,498,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.7 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $96.86. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.73.

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.