Washington Trust Bank Makes New $222,000 Investment in Morgan Stanley $MS

Washington Trust Bank bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 1,574 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $222,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the second quarter. Meadow Creek Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Gallagher Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,969 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Park Capital LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $122.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $176.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $168.23.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CEO Edward Pick sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.34, for a total value of $16,434,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 574,986 shares in the company, valued at $94,493,199.24. This trade represents a 14.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.0%

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $163.54 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $167.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $259.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $157.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $142.59.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.73. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 16.55% and a net margin of 13.85%.The firm had revenue of $18.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.42 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Investors of record on Friday, October 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.03%.

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.