Concord Wealth Partners Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 68.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 21,135 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 8,561 shares during the period. Concord Wealth Partners' holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,466,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased 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 worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $20,400,000 after purchasing an additional 42,743 shares during the last quarter. Pamalican Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,513,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% in the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,019,000 after buying an additional 21,090 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $58,699,000 after purchasing an additional 11,332 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE MS traded down $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,572,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,580,971. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $134.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.90%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company'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 transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.