Heritage Trust Co Has $7.13 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Heritage Trust Co reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.6%, owning 61,148 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares at an average price of $140.30, reflecting a 14.36% decrease in his ownership, while another insider, Andrew M. Saperstein, sold 43,566 shares at $140.97.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.00 and initiated a share repurchase program allowing for the buyback of up to $20 billion in shares.

Heritage Trust Co trimmed its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 61,148 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 3,636 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for 0.9% of Heritage Trust Co's portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Heritage Trust Co's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MS. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:MS traded down $1.54 on Tuesday, hitting $139.83. 1,653,207 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,802,743. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $91.52 and a 52 week high of $145.48. 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 $137.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.28.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.