Clear Rock Advisors LLC Has $2.38 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Clear Rock Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,220 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 345 shares during the quarter. Clear Rock Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% during the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% in the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 5.8 %

MS stock traded down $5.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $95.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,120,672 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $99.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.61. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 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 11.90%. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.86%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Bank of America raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Barclays boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.45.

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.