Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Sells 3,995 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 11.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 31,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 3,995 shares during the period. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 13.9% in the second quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 3,125 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.9% during the second quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co. now owns 32,978 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,850 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.1% during the second quarter. Covenant Asset Management LLC now owns 17,003 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the period. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4,700.0% during the second quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the period. Finally, Sciencast Management LP bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $700,000. Institutional investors own 83.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. HSBC began coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $99.00 price objective for the company. Odeon Capital Group upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $94.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $97.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Friday, July 7th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.22.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE MS traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $88.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,326,641 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,340,652. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.76. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $74.67 and a twelve month high of $100.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.54, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.35.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $13.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.02 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.19% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Morgan Stanley’s revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 5.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, June 30th that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 12.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James P. Gorman sold 125,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Monday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.19, for a total transaction of $11,898,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,011,345 shares in the company, valued at $96,269,930.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles Aubrey Smith III sold 5,600 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.41, for a total value of $517,496.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 136,513 shares in the company, valued at $12,615,166.33. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 369,100 shares of company stock valued at $34,634,996. Corporate insiders own 0.24% 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.