Sentry Investment Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Sentry Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,052 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,239 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $588,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.6 %

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $96.62 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $96.15. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $69.42 and a one year high of $109.11. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 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 company 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. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 3.83%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MS. UBS Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total value of $21,012,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.