Heritage Investors Management Corp Reduces Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Heritage Investors Management Corp reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 252,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,701 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 1.0% of Heritage Investors Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Heritage Investors Management Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after buying an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after acquiring an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $1,910,200,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock traded down $0.10 during trading on Friday, hitting $140.80. The stock had a trading volume of 5,572,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,580,971. The stock has a market cap of $225.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day moving average price is $134.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.23. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

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.