Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Bought by Gitterman Wealth Management LLC

Key Points

• Gitterman Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 85.8%, purchasing an additional 2,035 shares for a total of 4,408 shares valued at approximately $515,000.
• Morgan Stanley reported earnings per share of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and showing an 11.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a $20 billion share buyback program, indicating that its Board of Directors believes the shares are undervalued, alongside a recent dividend increase to $1.00 per share.

Gitterman Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 85.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,408 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 2,035 shares during the period. Gitterman Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 24.2% in the 1st quarter. Mccarter Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 3,142 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Norinchukin Bank The boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Norinchukin Bank The now owns 64,826 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,563,000 after purchasing an additional 8,554 shares during the last quarter. CW Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. CW Advisors LLC now owns 29,516 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,455,000 after purchasing an additional 2,155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 15,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,767,000 after purchasing an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded up $3.8940 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $147.9340. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,759,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,762,876. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $149.08. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $141.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $128.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $236.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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 lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction 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 sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last three months. 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.