Chatham Capital Group Inc. Sells 4,025 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Chatham Capital Group Inc. has reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 22.6%, now owning 13,801 shares valued at approximately $1.94 million.
• Insider selling activity was noted, with Daniel A. Simkowitz selling 29,000 shares and CFO Sharon Yeshaya selling 25,583 shares on July 17th.
• Morgan Stanley announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00, reflecting a strong financial position.

Chatham Capital Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 22.6% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,801 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,025 shares during the quarter. Chatham Capital Group Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after acquiring an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $160.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The firm has a market cap of $255.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $148.67 and its 200 day moving average is $133.09.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

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