Ascent Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 217.6% during the 1st quarter, owning 9,938 shares valued at $1,159,000.
• Morgan Stanley has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing a boost from the previous amount and indicating a 2.6% yield.
• Equities analysts have raised price targets for Morgan Stanley's stock, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgrading it to an "outperform" rating and setting a new target of $160.00.

Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 217.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,938 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,809 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,159,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during 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, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of MS stock opened at $152.22 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $242.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50-day moving average of $144.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.96. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $152.82.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by 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.

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