Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC

Key Points

• Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC significantly reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley, selling 505,633 shares to end with a position worth $1.62 million.
• Insider selling was notable, with two executives offloading over 63,000 shares combined, indicating a potential shift in sentiment regarding the stock.
• Multiple research analysts revised their price targets upward for Morgan Stanley, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Neutral" suggesting positive growth expectations.

Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 97.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 505,633 shares during the quarter. Atalanta Sosnoff Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the first quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,785,000 after purchasing an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of 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 upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MS stock traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $148.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,696,664 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,189,227. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $144.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.71. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $151.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $236.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.