Qsemble Capital Management LP Invests $1.94 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,989 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,943,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the second quarter worth $25,000. POM Investment Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 241 shares in the last quarter. Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Managment Co. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $97.03 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $69.42 and a 1 year high of $109.11. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $100.65 and a 200 day moving average of $96.16. The stock has a market cap of $157.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.17. The firm 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 business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 7.03 EPS 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 paid a $0.925 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $98.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $105.00 price target on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $116.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.73.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the director now owns 95,908 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,225,710.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Mandell Crawley sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 43,224 shares in the company, valued at $4,549,326. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert H. Herz sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.62, for a total value 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. Insiders sold 252,000 shares of company stock worth $26,546,370 over the last three months. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.