Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Gamco Investors INC. ET AL

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.7%, selling 5,599 shares, and now holds 145,193 shares with a total value of approximately $16.94 million.
• In a notable move, Morgan Stanley's CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares for over $3.57 million, signaling a 16.59% decrease in her ownership.
• Analysts have upgraded Morgan Stanley's rating, with target prices ranging from $130 to $160, reflecting positive sentiment around the stock's performance and growth potential.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 3.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 145,193 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,599 shares during the quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $16,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $320,941,000 after acquiring an additional 2,728,693 shares during the period. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 99.9% during the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $363,075,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555,015 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Erste Group Bank raised 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 boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $150.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,627,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,344. 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 fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $150.75. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $143.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.37. The company has a market capitalization of $240.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley 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.