Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by GAMMA Investing LLC

Key Points

• GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 20.1% during the second quarter, acquiring an additional 4,743 shares, bringing its total holdings to 28,321 shares valued at approximately $3.99 million.
• Insider transactions reported that Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares for $4.09 million, marking a 6.77% decrease in ownership, while CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares valued at $3.58 million.
• Morgan Stanley announced a $20 billion stock buyback plan and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting confidence in its stock valuation.

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 20.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,321 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,743 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Clear Harbor Asset Management LLC now owns 5,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,705 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Planning Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $7,611,000. Masso Torrence Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the second quarter worth $226,000. Lewis Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $259,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Southland Equity Partners LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in 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 stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $160.74. 4,421,040 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,030,504. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $256.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.33 and a 52 week high of $161.09.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were 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 directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.