Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 301,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 63,031 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.6% of Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,910,200,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,774,225,000 after acquiring an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $140.43. 2,239,975 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,561,164. The company has a market cap of $225.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The business's fifty day moving average price is $134.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

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.

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