Ethic Inc. Purchases 6,699 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. has increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.1%, now owning 168,968 shares valued at approximately $19.56 million.
• The company's quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting EPS of $2.13 compared to the expected $1.98, with a revenue of $16.79 billion.
• Morgan Stanley recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00, an increase from the previous dividend of $0.93, reflecting a 2.7% yield.

Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 4.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 168,968 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,699 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first 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. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $3.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $144.55. 4,985,473 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,890,343. The company has a market cap of $230.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $139.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.68. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $149.08. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the insider 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company 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.