Cornerstone Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,400 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the second quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Waldron Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $774,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 15,410 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,498,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH now owns 3,131 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Citigroup boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned 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 an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total value of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,146,293.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, valued at $47,146,293.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $98.25 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $159.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

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.