Lincluden Management Ltd. lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,741 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,756 shares during the period. Lincluden Management Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,287,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $243,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Finally, Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,311 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $919,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
Shares of NYSE MS traded up $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $143.00. 3,462,907 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,791,441. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $135.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $127.74. The company has a market capitalization of $229.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.16.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 2.80%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 41.90%.
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
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 stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.
Check Out Our Latest Analysis on MS
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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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