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Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 109,686 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

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Key Points

  • Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12.7% in the first quarter, reaching a total of 976,001 shares valued at approximately $113.87 million.
  • Morgan Stanley's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.98, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8% to $16.79 billion.
  • The company announced a $20 billion share repurchase program and a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting confidence in its stock valuation and ongoing profitability.
  • Looking to export and analyze Morgan Stanley data? Unlock 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for Just $5. Claim Your Limited-Time Discount.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 12.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 976,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 109,686 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.8% of Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.06% of Morgan Stanley worth $113,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Check Out Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

MS stock traded down $3.96 on Friday, hitting $144.55. 4,985,473 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,890,343. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $149.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $139.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $230.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

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