Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Has $310,000 Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 247 shares during the quarter. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $156.47 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $157.76. The stock has a market cap of $249.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.30 and its 200-day moving average is $130.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.