Focus Partners Wealth Sells 3,709 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.1% during the first quarter, now owning 170,350 shares valued at approximately $19.88 million.
• Insider transactions included Daniel A. Simkowitz and Michael A. Pizzi selling a total of 47,000 shares, signifying a decrease in their ownership of the stock.
• Morgan Stanley's Board has approved a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00.

Focus Partners Wealth cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 170,350 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,709 shares during the quarter. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $19,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

MS stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $156.47. 4,341,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,343,304. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $157.76. The business has a 50 day moving average of $145.30 and a 200-day moving average of $130.49. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. 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 dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.