Torray Investment Partners LLC Purchases 213 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Torray Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 0.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 44,836 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Torray Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,358,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC now owns 373,686 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,846,000 after buying an additional 27,845 shares during the last quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Evercore Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,274,605 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $118,857,000 after buying an additional 48,812 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,987,524 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $185,337,000 after buying an additional 9,260 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 247.2% in the fourth quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 22,335 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 15,903 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 1,059,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $98,787,000 after purchasing an additional 23,991 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $96.59. 9,246,905 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,272,226. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $100.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.85. The company has a market cap of $156.97 billion, a PE ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 1.37. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.96.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 31st were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is presently 67.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer lowered shares of Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.45.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Chairman James P. Gorman sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,759,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total transaction of $106,620.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.