Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 1,792 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 47.1%, now holding 2,016 shares valued at approximately $284,000.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and reflecting an 11.8% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 47.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,792 shares during the period. Good Steward Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 9.5% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,493,000 after buying an additional 1,027 shares during the period. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 78.0% in the 4th quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 10,327 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,298,000 after buying an additional 4,524 shares during the period. Texas Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $601,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased 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 buying an additional 96,347 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $156.47 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $145.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $249.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $157.76.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for 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%.The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank raised 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 issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. Company 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.

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