Ieq Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC has increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.3%, owning 126,809 shares worth approximately $14.8 million at the latest reporting period.
• A number of analysts have raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs upping theirs to $136.00 and Wells Fargo to $145.00, amidst a generally favorable outlook for the stock.
• In a notable insider transaction, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares for over $3.5 million, representing a significant decrease in her ownership stake.

Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 27,998 shares during the quarter. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $14,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $767,506,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 12,318.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,750,845 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $320,941,000 after purchasing an additional 2,728,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axiom Investors LLC DE raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 99.9% in the first quarter. Axiom Investors LLC DE now owns 3,111,979 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,075,000 after purchasing an additional 1,555,015 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.32 on Monday, reaching $150.50. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,627,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,341,883. The company has a market capitalization of $240.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $150.75. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock 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 report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus 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.