Seven Eight Capital LP Invests $5.41 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 55,705 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,414,000. Morgan Stanley makes up 0.6% of Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% during the second quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $69.42 and a 12 month high of $109.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $100.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $162.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.32 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. Morgan Stanley’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were given a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, July 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,908 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,549,326. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the company’s stock.

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.