Conning Inc. Sells 22,927 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Conning Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 7.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 267,502 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 22,927 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.3% of Conning Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McLean Asset Management Corp grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $152.07 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32. The business’s fifty day moving average is $151.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.