Comerica Bank Purchases 2,164 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Comerica Bank increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7%, now owning 319,314 shares valued at approximately $37.25 million after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares in Q1.
• Insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $140.30, resulting in a total value of $2.8 million, reflecting a 14.36% decrease in his position.
• Morgan Stanley's board approved a $20 billion stock repurchase plan and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, indicating a strong outlook on its stock valuation.

Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Citigroup restated 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $147.9340 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $236.15 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $141.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $149.08.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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.

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