Umpqua Bank Acquires 246 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Umpqua Bank grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 12,693 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 246 shares during the period. Umpqua Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 328.0% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,415,000 after purchasing an additional 11,295 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $1,328,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 73.3% during the 4th quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 766 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 400,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,327,000 after acquiring an additional 37,654 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $383,000 after acquiring an additional 476 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $96.59 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.92. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $69.42 and a 52 week high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion during 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.54, for a total transaction of $4,261,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares in the company, 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 worth $26,546,370 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.