Interval Partners LP Invests $6.29 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Interval Partners LP bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 64,703 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,288,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $102.47 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The business’s fifty day moving average is $100.24 and its 200 day moving average is $96.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.53 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Evercore ISI boosted 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. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.