Covenant Asset Management LLC Has $2.66 Million Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Covenant Asset Management LLC has significantly reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 54.4%, now holding 18,890 shares valued at approximately $2.66 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, resulting in an annualized dividend of $4.00 and a yield of 2.5%.
• Several hedge funds, including Brighton Jones LLC and Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC, have increased their positions in Morgan Stanley, reflecting growing institutional interest in the company.

Covenant Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 54.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,890 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,519 shares during the period. Covenant Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,661,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.8% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 5,340 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. New Hampshire Trust grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the first quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 32.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,104 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,512,000 after buying an additional 7,373 shares during the period. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 5,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:MS opened at $160.13 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $255.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $148.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.25. 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.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. 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 yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last three months. 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.

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