Abner Herrman & Brock LLC Has $23.02 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Abner Herrman & Brock LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 25.7%, holding 163,426 shares worth approximately $23 million at the end of the recent quarter.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $16.79 billion, marking an 11.8% increase year-over-year.
• The firm approved a share repurchase program of $20 billion, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, and also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share.

Abner Herrman & Brock LLC lessened its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 56,659 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for approximately 2.6% of Abner Herrman & Brock LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Abner Herrman & Brock LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $23,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $156.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $157.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% 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 valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued 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 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.

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