Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Acquires 52,938 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7%, owning approximately 8 million shares valued at $937.58 million by the end of the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley reported earnings of $2.13 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and announced a $20 billion share buyback plan to repurchase up to 8.9% of its outstanding shares.
• The company's quarterly dividend has been raised to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting a commitment to returning capital to shareholders with a current dividend yield of 2.7%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,037,341 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 52,938 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.50% of Morgan Stanley worth $937,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the 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 $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

NYSE MS traded down $3.96 on Friday, hitting $144.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,985,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,890,343. The company's 50-day moving average is $139.93 and its 200 day moving average is $128.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $149.08. The firm has a market cap of $230.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.