Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. Purchases 3,315 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 59.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,907 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,315 shares during the period. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Viewpoint Capital Management LLC now owns 12,319 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,197,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 541 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.8% during the third quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,893 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $733,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Waldron Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.4% in the second quarter. Waldron Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,965 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $774,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total transaction of $797,775.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was 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 directly owns 150,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,266,848.03. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $108.10 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $175.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a PEG ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $69.42 and a 52-week high of $109.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $100.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. HSBC upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, October 4th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.06.

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.