Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC

Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,374 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,993 shares during the period. Beverly Hills Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,786,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in 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 acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $97.03 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MS. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.