Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY

Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 301,627 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,224 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 3.5% of Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Matrix Asset Advisors Inc. NY’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $3,666,000. American Trust purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $271,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 5,314 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 1,006 shares in the last quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total transaction of $368,375.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Morgan Stanley news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.06, for a total transaction of $21,012,000.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 150,000 shares in the company, valued at $15,759,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.25, for a total value of $368,375.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock valued at $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $110.46 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $179.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.36. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $69.42 and a 1-year high of $111.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.52.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 6.95 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 60.96%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JMP Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $118.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, October 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $103.06.

Morgan Stanley 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.