Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.1%, selling 264,323 shares in the first quarter, which left them with 2,624,999 shares valued at approximately $306.26 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported $2.13 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.98, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8%.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion share buyback program, allowing it to repurchase up to 8.9% of its outstanding shares, indicating confidence in its stock valuation.

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,624,999 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 264,323 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.16% of Morgan Stanley worth $306,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MS. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4,324.4% in the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 32,298 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,482,000 after buying an additional 31,568 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 29.6% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 259,583 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,468,000 after buying an additional 59,351 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 17.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 83,728 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $9,769,000 after buying an additional 12,376 shares during the period. Amundi raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.7% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 5,200,064 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $567,825,000 after buying an additional 925,713 shares during the period. Finally, Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the first quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 106,791 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,460,000 after buying an additional 4,600 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $2.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,696,664 shares of the company traded hands, 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $144.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $129.79. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $151.86.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on 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 Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.