Grassi Investment Management Sells 1,700 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Grassi Investment Management lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 121,025 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,700 shares during the period. Grassi Investment Management’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $10,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MS. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 30.4% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 13,322 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,111,000 after purchasing an additional 3,103 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 185.1% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 312,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,648,000 after purchasing an additional 202,573 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,620 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 45,262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,865,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares during the period. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $200,000. Institutional investors own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS opened at $88.40 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $87.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.76. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $74.67 and a 1 year high of $100.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.48 billion, a PE ratio of 15.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.04. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 12.19%. The company had revenue of $13.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 31st were paid a $0.85 dividend. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 28th. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 59.96%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Friday, June 30th that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Odeon Capital Group raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $95.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.22.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total transaction of $517,496.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Morgan Stanley news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total value of $11,543,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,136,345 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,941,460.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 136,513 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,615,166.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 369,100 shares of company stock worth $34,634,996. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.