Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 248,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,516 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $24,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 328.0% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 14,739 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 11,295 shares in the last quarter. Associated Banc Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 2,972 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $277,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 77,251 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,204,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, L.M. Kohn & Company bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $259,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer cut shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.73.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE MS opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.32 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $100.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The business 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. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.925 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.70%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 67.40%.

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.