Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Sold by HighPoint Advisor Group LLC

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC reduced its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,068 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,354 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after purchasing an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during 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 buying an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after buying an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th 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 buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,910,200,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.40 on Monday, hitting $140.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,829,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,578,060. The company has a market capitalization of $225.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $134.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 41.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.