First Hawaiian Bank Lowers Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• First Hawaiian Bank reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.9%, selling 1,950 shares, resulting in a total holding of 47,568 shares worth approximately $5.55 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a $20 billion stock buyback program to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares.
• The company's quarterly dividend increased from $0.93 to $1.00, reflecting a yield of 2.6% and a payout ratio of 45.30%.

First Hawaiian Bank decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,568 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,950 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,550,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on 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 upgraded 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 research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $156.47. 4,341,386 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,343,304. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $157.76. The company has a market cap of $249.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $145.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.50.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program 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 buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.