Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 2,363 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Boston Common Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.0%, selling 2,363 shares, and now holds 226,009 shares worth approximately $31.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $4.00 and a yield of 2.5%.
• The company announced a $20 billion stock buyback program, indicating management believes the stock is undervalued, allowing repurchases of up to 8.9% of its shares.

Boston Common Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 226,009 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,363 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 0.9% of Boston Common Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Boston Common Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $31,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after acquiring an additional 219,729 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after acquiring an additional 442,617 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $157.40 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98. 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 $251.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $150.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.53.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.92.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $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.

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