Lmcg Investments LLC Sells 37,062 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Lmcg Investments LLC cut its Morgan Stanley stake by 47.1% in the first quarter, selling 37,062 shares and leaving it with 41,702 shares valued at about $6.86 million.
• Insider selling was also notable, with Daniel A. Simkowitz and Andrew M. Saperstein both trimming holdings; insiders sold 77,476 shares worth about $14.6 million over the last 90 days.
• Morgan Stanley continues to draw bullish analyst support, with several firms raising price targets ahead of earnings and the company announcing a $20 billion share buyback authorization alongside its regular dividend.

Lmcg Investments LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 47.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,702 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 37,062 shares during the period. Lmcg Investments LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $6,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $2,736,648,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,917,776 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,648,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364,080 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 142.4% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,122,060 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $511,723,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833,844 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 119,718,100 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $21,253,554,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2,332.9% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,406,495 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $249,710,000 after purchasing an additional 1,348,683 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 365,802 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 51,668 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.59, for a total transaction of $9,744,068.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 282,142 shares in the company, valued at $53,209,159.78. This trade represents a 15.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,476 shares of company stock valued at $14,644,762. Insiders own 0.17% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target on Morgan Stanley to $250 from $225 and kept a Buy rating, signaling more upside as the firm heads into earnings season. Benzinga coverage of Morgan Stanley target increase
• Positive Sentiment: UBS also lifted its target to $255 and reiterated a Buy rating, adding to bullish analyst sentiment ahead of the company’s July 15 Q2 report. Benzinga coverage of UBS target increase
• Positive Sentiment: Media coverage highlighted Morgan Stanley’s view that large-cap tech could rally again, which may be helping the broader “risk-on” tone around financial markets and Morgan Stanley shares. TipRanks article on Morgan Stanley Mag 7 call
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are also watching Morgan Stanley’s own upcoming earnings release, with expectations for revenue and EPS growth already baked into forecasts, which can keep the stock active but not necessarily directional by itself. Benzinga earnings preview for Morgan Stanley
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, recent commentary noted Morgan Stanley’s continued shift of client assets toward adviser-led wealth management, a longer-term strategic positive but not a near-term catalyst. 247WallSt article on Morgan Stanley wealth management shift

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Argus raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $210.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. CICC Research upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and set a $207.00 target price on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.20.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of MS opened at $218.20 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a 52 week low of $135.26 and a 52 week high of $230.47. The firm has a market cap of $344.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.23. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $207.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $186.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.02 by $0.41. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 14.65% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The firm had revenue of $20.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.23 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.60 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 30th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 30th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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