Axxcess Wealth Management LLC Buys 5,679 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 19.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,265 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,679 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,427,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1,147.6% in the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 262 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $99.88 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $69.42 and a 12-month high of $109.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $96.59. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $15.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.32 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $105.00 price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Oppenheimer downgraded Morgan Stanley from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $105.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.73.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CFO Raja Akram sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $797,775.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 87,119 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,266,848.03. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value of $106,620.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370. 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.