Atticus Wealth Management LLC Acquires 3,272 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Atticus Wealth Management LLC significantly increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 384.9%, acquiring a total of 4,122 shares valued at $581,000 as of the end of the second quarter.
• In addition to Atticus, other institutional investors like Vanguard and Goldman Sachs raised their positions in Morgan Stanley, with Vanguard owning over 117 million shares valued around $13.74 billion.
• Morgan Stanley announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.5%, and reported earnings per share of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.

Atticus Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 384.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,272 shares during the period. Atticus Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE MS traded up $0.44 during trading on Friday, reaching $159.68. 14,899,195 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $131.49. 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 fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $161.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

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 $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. 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 is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback 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 typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.