Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Cypress Financial Planning LLC

Key Points

• Cypress Financial Planning LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.1% in Q2, owning 37,713 shares valued at approximately $5.31 million.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates, with revenue reaching $16.79 billion—an 11.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $1.00 per share and authorized a $20 billion share buyback program, indicating management's confidence in the stock's valuation.

Cypress Financial Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 37,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 8,262 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 1.7% of Cypress Financial Planning LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Cypress Financial Planning LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stolper Co grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Stolper Co now owns 24,780 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,491,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Trust Point Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.6% in the second quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 10,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after buying an additional 351 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 982,218 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $141,577,000 after acquiring an additional 12,298 shares during the last quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 384.9% in the second quarter. Atticus Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,122 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 3,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 13,524 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,126 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock 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 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $161.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $131.55.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company's revenue for the quarter 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, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.