Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Has $4.82 Million Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.6%, owning 34,206 shares valued at approximately $4.82 million as of the 2nd quarter.
• Morgan Stanley reported earnings of $2.13 per share for the latest quarter, surpassing estimates, with revenues of $16.79 billion, marking an 11.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion share buyback plan, indicating the board's belief that their shares are currently undervalued, and has also raised its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share.

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 13.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,206 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,102 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake 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 valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,297 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $385,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 23,578 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,426 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at $203,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 59,299 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $6,918,000 after purchasing an additional 1,873 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $152.07 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $151.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued 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 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%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

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 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MS. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.85.

About Morgan Stanley

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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