Guggenheim Capital LLC Lowers Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Guggenheim Capital LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 31.6%, now holding approximately $9.45 million worth of shares after selling 37,332 during the first quarter.
• Insiders, including CFO Sharon Yeshaya and Andrew M. Saperstein, recently sold significant portions of their stocks, with total sales amounting to over $20 million in the last three months.
• Morgan Stanley has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share and announced a $20 billion stock buyback program, indicating confidence in its valuation.

Guggenheim Capital LLC cut its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,989 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,332 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $9,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE MS traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.50. 3,627,988 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,341,883. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $143.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $129.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $94.09 and a 52 week high of $150.75. The stock has a market cap of $240.25 billion, a PE ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.