Dempze Nancy E Decreases Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Dempze Nancy E trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 27.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. Dempze Nancy E’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $155.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.18. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $248.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.63, a PEG ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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.