Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $46.15 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7%, owning 327,631 shares valued at approximately $46.15 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Morgan Stanley's Board of Directors has authorized a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating confidence in the company's stock value.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, reflecting an increase from the previous $0.93 and yielding around 2.5% annually.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 327,631 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 5,665 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $46,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 58.5% during the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% 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 90 days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.3%

MS stock opened at $159.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $253.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $163.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $149.46 and a 200-day moving average of $133.74.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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.

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