Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Has $25.78 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 16.1%, holding 220,964 shares valued at approximately $25.78 million as reported in its latest SEC filing.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding estimates, and announced a stock repurchase plan allowing for $20 billion in buybacks, indicating confidence in the company's value.
• The company's quarterly dividend has been raised to $1.00 per share, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.8%.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 16.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,964 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,617 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,774,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 9,210,293 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,157,918,000 after purchasing an additional 756,116 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $144.55 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.93 and a 200 day moving average of $128.68. The firm has a market cap of $230.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $149.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding 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 typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $4,092,770.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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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