Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Gateway Investment Advisers LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter, keeping a total of 441,659 shares valued at approximately $62.21 million.
• Analysts have issued a mix of ratings for Morgan Stanley, with a consensus target price of $139.92, reflecting expectations for growth in the stock's value.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, along with a share buyback program authorizing $20 billion in repurchases, indicating confidence in their stock's valuation.

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 441,659 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,276 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.7% of Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $62,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,027 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 426.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 118,947 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,954,000 after purchasing an additional 96,347 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,024,000. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price 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 upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup restated 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $139.92.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of MS traded up $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $159.68. The stock had a trading volume of 14,899,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,623,391. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $161.09. The firm has a market cap of $254.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.33. The business's fifty day moving average is $146.84 and its 200 day moving average is $131.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.