Concord Asset Management LLC VA Sells 742 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Concord Asset Management LLC VA trimmed its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 742 shares during the quarter. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 59,299 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% in the first quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 3,616 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 22.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 1,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE MS opened at $152.07 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $151.61 and its 200 day moving average is $135.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The stock has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

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.