Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS Purchases Shares of 1,955 Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS has taken a new position in Morgan Stanley, buying 1,955 shares valued at approximately $228,000 in the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly earnings per share of $2.13, exceeding estimates and showing an 11.8% increase in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company approved a $20 billion stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00, indicating management's confidence in the stock's value.

Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 1,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.8% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 7,282,156 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $915,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,453,470 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,403,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,685,050,000 after purchasing an additional 2,233,589 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.93 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $144.49. 1,281,452 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,842,756. The company has a market cap of $231.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $135.89 and a 200 day moving average of $127.98.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.