Banque Pictet & Cie SA Sells 1,899 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Banque Pictet & Cie SA reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.1%, now holding 87,342 shares valued at $12.3 million after selling 1,899 shares in the second quarter.
• Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings reported a net income of $2.13 per share, surpassing estimates by $0.15, with revenue reaching $16.79 billion.
• The company has announced a $20 billion share buyback program, indicating the board's belief that its shares are currently undervalued.

Banque Pictet & Cie SA trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,342 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,899 shares during the quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after acquiring an additional 6,092 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st 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 period. Tlwm boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st 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 period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $158.96 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $253.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $148.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $132.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $163.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $139.92.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.