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

Concord Asset Management LLC VA lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 23,690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 742 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $152.07 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $151.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MS. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $180.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $154.85.

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.