55,705 Shares in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Purchased by Seven Eight Capital LP

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 55,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,414,000. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.6% of Seven Eight Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 in the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MS. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a 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 $101.73.

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.