Baird Financial Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5%, owning 297,657 shares valued at approximately $34.7 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting an annualized pay of $4.00 and a yield of 2.7%.
• The company reported an earnings per share of $2.13 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking an 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 297,657 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,219 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $34,728,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. AlTi Global Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 13,739 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,886,000 after buying an additional 1,779 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alteri Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $305,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.5%

MS traded down $2.30 on Friday, hitting $148.23. 5,570,493 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,507,686. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $151.86. The company has a market cap of $236.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $144.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $129.74.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.