Webster Bank N. A. Acquires 356 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Webster Bank N. A. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,347 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $349,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lynx Investment Advisory bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $110.46 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $111.47. 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $101.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.56. The stock has a market cap of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.96%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, July 18th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $103.06.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. This represents 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. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.