Texas Permanent School Fund Corp Sells 559 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.2% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 289,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 559 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,263,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 35,152 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,403 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 23,134 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,178,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $342,000. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 10,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $948,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $8,304,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Cfra lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $91.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.07.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 46,274 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $9,021,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 414,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,425,422.70. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 6,954 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.61, for a total value of $692,687.94. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 46,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,353.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 118,154 shares of company stock valued at $10,722,696 in the last 90 days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.1 %

MS traded up $1.18 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $104.64. The stock had a trading volume of 7,747,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,513,412. The stock has a market capitalization of $170.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $97.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.31. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $105.29.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.69 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $15.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.88% and a net margin of 9.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.81 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 30th were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

Morgan Stanley 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.