Buffington Mohr McNeal Has $1.02 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Buffington Mohr McNeal reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,765 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,675 shares during the period. Buffington Mohr McNeal's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,023,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 1ST Source Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 15,925 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,727 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $594,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. This trade represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $1.64 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $144.50. The stock had a trading volume of 3,974,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,693,141. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company's fifty day moving average is $129.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.12. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $144.56.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley 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.