Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC

Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,646 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Mosaic Family Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First United Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Union Savings Bank raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13,333.3% during the fourth quarter. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 403 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Norwood Financial Corp purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target 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. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of 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 raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 5.8 %

MS stock traded down $5.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $95.85. 11,120,672 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,699,997. The company has a market capitalization of $155.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.97. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $69.42 and a twelve month high of $109.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.67.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 258,954 shares of company stock worth $27,239,058. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.