Congress Park Capital LLC Has $383,000 Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Congress Park Capital LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 48.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,675 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,479 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $383,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS traded up $2.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $111.01. 2,480,240 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,010,368. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $100.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $98.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.81, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $69.42 and a fifty-two week high of $111.47.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $102.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $103.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last 90 days. 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.