CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 36.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,723 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Invictus RG purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $106,000. FTB Advisors Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.1% in the first quarter. FTB Advisors Inc. now owns 2,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $120,000. Adirondack Trust Co. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the first quarter. Adirondack Trust Co. now owns 2,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Manhattan Co. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 17.0% in the first quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 4,294 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 624 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.65% of the company’s stock.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) traded down 0.15% on Wednesday, hitting $47.14. 2,223,361 shares of the stock traded hands. The stock has a market cap of $86.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.50 and a beta of 1.63. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $27.95 and a 52-week high of $48.04. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $45.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $44.14.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.11. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 16.77% and a return on equity of 9.86%. The company had revenue of $9.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.75 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post $3.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 27th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 28.65%.
Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 6.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
TRADEMARK VIOLATION NOTICE: “Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Bought by CENTRAL TRUST Co” was published by StockNewsTimes and is owned by of StockNewsTimes. If you are viewing this story on another website, it was illegally copied and republished in violation of US & international copyright and trademark laws. The original version of this story can be read at https://stocknewstimes.com/2017/08/02/morgan-stanley-nysems-shares-bought-by-central-trust-co.html.
Several equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. Zacks Investment Research upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $46.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. Rafferty Capital Markets reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, April 22nd. J P Morgan Chase & Co reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, May 23rd. Instinet reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (down previously from $51.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Saturday, June 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, June 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $47.61.
In related news, CFO Jonathan Pruzan sold 25,767 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.68, for a total transaction of $1,202,803.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 196,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,182,329.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 212,365 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.93, for a total transaction of $9,116,829.45. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,389,378 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,645,997.54. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
About Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a financial holding company. The Company’s segments include Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management. The Company’s Institutional Securities business segment provides investment banking, sales and trading, and other services to corporations, governments, financial institutions and high-to-ultra high net worth clients.
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).
Receive News & Ratings for Morgan Stanley Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Morgan Stanley and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.
