Bank of New Hampshire Sells 2,203 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Bank of New Hampshire lessened its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 26.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,203 shares during the quarter. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 3,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Morningstar Investment Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $296,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 108,498 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,117,000 after buying an additional 3,662 shares during the period. Finally, Regal Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,008 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.68.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.19 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $107.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,439,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,079,627. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The company has a market capitalization of $175.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. 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 payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.