Allstate Corp Decreases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Allstate Corp has reduced its stock position in Morgan Stanley by 11.5%, now holding 31,800 shares valued at approximately $3.71 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00, resulting in a 2.8% yield on an annualized basis.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook, with one upgrading to a "strong-buy" and varying target prices, including a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $138.25.

Allstate Corp reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 31,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,118 shares during the quarter. Allstate Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,710,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 37.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 22,224 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 6,093 shares in the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 38.9% during the 4th quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $115,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 9,306 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,170,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 36,221 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,096 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $143.9640 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $140.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.99. 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 has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $149.08. The firm has a market cap of $229.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.30, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is 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.

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