Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $2.67 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,353 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 735 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Union Savings Bank raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 62.5% in the fourth quarter. Union Savings Bank now owns 390 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock valued at $27,239,058. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.18.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $104.54 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $169.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $99.58 and a 200-day moving average of $93.26.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st will be given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.93%.

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.