Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Invests $238,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. acquired 2,036 shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) valued at approximately $238,000 during the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, representing a yield of 2.7%.
• Insider transactions revealed that key executives sold a significant number of shares, including Michael A. Pizzi who sold 18,000 shares at an average price of $140.62.

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 7,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 1,358 shares in the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $872,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 3,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 727,396 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $91,448,000 after buying an additional 31,963 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 2.7%

NYSE MS traded down $3.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $144.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,985,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,919,660. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $139.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.79. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $149.08. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $230.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business'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 firm earned $1.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 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.