Mather Group LLC. Purchases 1,345 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 14.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,345 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $958,105,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $512,867,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $159,714,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $93.51. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,375,457 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,595,915. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $99.46 and a 200-day moving average of $93.84. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. The stock has a market cap of $151.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.90%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

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.