Advisors Asset Management Inc. Has $9.77 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.3% in the first quarter, now holding 83,728 shares worth approximately $9.77 million.
• Morgan Stanley's dividend was raised to $1.00 per share, marking a boost from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.93, with a yield of 2.7%.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Vanguard Group, have recently increased their holdings in Morgan Stanley, contributing to institutional ownership of 84.19%.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 12,376 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,769,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MS. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:MS traded down $2.30 on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,696,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $151.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50-day moving average price is $144.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.79.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.