Aberdeen Group plc Lowers Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 30.9%, now holding about 0.07% of the company worth $121.63 million after selling 474,214 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Morgan Stanley initiated a $20 billion share repurchase program, allowing the company to buy back up to 8.9% of its shares, indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, increasing the annualized dividend to $4.00, representing a yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 45.30%.

Aberdeen Group plc lessened its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 30.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,058,357 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 474,214 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $121,626,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $3.96 on Friday, reaching $144.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,985,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,890,343. 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 company has a market capitalization of $230.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $139.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $128.68. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $149.08.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.