First Bank & Trust Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• First Bank & Trust reduced its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.7%, now holding 9,263 shares valued at approximately $1.3 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from the previous $0.93, providing an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%.
• The company announced a stock buyback plan authorizing $20 billion to repurchase up to 8.9% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

First Bank & Trust trimmed its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 25.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,263 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,201 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MS. McLean Asset Management Corp lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $156.60 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $158.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.56 and a 200 day moving average of $130.66.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations 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 was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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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