Level Four Advisory Services LLC Decreases Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Level Four Advisory Services LLC has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.2%, now owning 106,391 shares valued at approximately $12.41 million.
• In the recent quarter, Morgan Stanley reported earnings of $2.13 per share, outperforming expectations and reflecting an 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has initiated a $20 billion share buyback plan and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share from the previous $0.93.

Level Four Advisory Services LLC decreased its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 106,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,979 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $12,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.6% during the first quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 4,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $491,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 91.0% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 284,057 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,068,000 after purchasing an additional 135,374 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 273,594 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,554,000 after purchasing an additional 22,196 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,565,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.0440 on Monday, hitting $147.9760. 921,486 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,611,872. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $149.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $236.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.77, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $141.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The company 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%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised 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 report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 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.

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.