Parkside Investments LLC Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Parkside Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Parkside Investments LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 worth $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE MS opened at $161.05 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $163.98. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $149.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.56. The firm has a market cap of $257.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $142.00.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.19% 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.