Community Trust & Investment Co. Trims Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Community Trust & Investment Co. has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 18.6%, now holding 25,954 shares worth approximately $3.66 million after selling 5,918 shares.
• Morgan Stanley recently experienced increased analyst ratings, with Erste Group Bank upgrading the stock to a "strong-buy" and multiple firms raising their price targets.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting a 2.5% yield, and approved a $20 billion share buyback program, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Community Trust & Investment Co. lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,954 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,918 shares during the quarter. Community Trust & Investment Co.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,656,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $159.68. 14,899,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $161.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $254.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $131.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.