Lmcg Investments LLC Purchases 782 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Lmcg Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,862 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,514,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 38,451,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,585,561,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,435 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $512,867,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 16.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 28,481,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,681,778,000 after purchasing an additional 3,981,528 shares during the period. Focused Investors Fund L P bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $159,714,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 600.8% in the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,301,835 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $122,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,116,058 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 442,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,146,293.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370 over the last ninety days. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE MS opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $162.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.