Highland Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Highland Capital Management LLC has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.6%, now holding 36,370 shares worth approximately $5.12 million after selling 10,022 shares in Q2.
• Morgan Stanley reported Q2 earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, with revenue of $16.79 billion, marking an 11.8% increase year-over-year.
• The board of Morgan Stanley has authorized a $20 billion stock repurchase plan, aimed at repurchasing up to 8.9% of outstanding shares, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.

Highland Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 36,370 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,022 shares during the period. Highland Capital Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,123,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MBL Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 15,530 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,188,000 after purchasing an additional 1,157 shares in the last quarter. Diligent Investors LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 14,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,002,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares in the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 92.7% in the 2nd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 409,071 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $57,648,000 after purchasing an additional 196,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peoples Bank OH increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter. Peoples Bank OH now owns 4,945 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $157.40 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $163.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business's fifty day moving average price is $150.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.53.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. 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 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $152.92.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

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