Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Gabelli Funds LLC

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7%, holding 244,469 shares valued at $28.52 million after selling 6,810 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, with Vanguard raising its stake by 6.9%.
• Morgan Stanley reported a strong quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $2.13, exceeding estimates and representing an 11.8% year-over-year increase in revenue.

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 244,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,810 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after purchasing an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the period. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.32 on Friday, hitting $150.50. The stock had a trading volume of 3,627,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,344. The stock has a market cap of $240.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $143.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.37. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $150.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 2.7%. 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. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on MS shares. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Transactions 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 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 in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently 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.