Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Grows Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 18.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,946,684 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 466,012 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Morgan Stanley worth $343,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $143.76 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $130.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.27. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The stock has a market cap of $230.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.

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.

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