Clough Capital Partners L P Has $1.45 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 57.8%, selling 17,022 shares and holding 12,428 shares worth approximately $1.45 million at the end of the quarter.
• Other institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their holdings in Morgan Stanley, indicating strong interest among major players.
• Morgan Stanley's recent earnings report showed a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding expectations, along with a new stock buyback program worth $20 billion aimed at purchasing 8.9% of its shares.

Clough Capital Partners L P reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 57.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,428 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 17,022 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the 1st quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 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 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up 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 lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $1.58 on Tuesday, reaching $148.90. 5,328,376 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,547,504. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $150.75. The company has a market capitalization of $237.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $143.38 and a 200 day moving average of $129.39.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.