Longbow Finance SA Has $3.43 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Longbow Finance SA reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 17.7% during the 1st quarter, holding a total of 29,358 shares valued at approximately $3.43 million at the end of the reporting period.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, increasing from the previous $0.93, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.81%.
• The company recently reported earnings per share of $2.13 for the quarter, surpassing expectations and reflecting an 11.8% year-over-year revenue growth.

Longbow Finance SA reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 17.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 6,304 shares during the quarter. Longbow Finance SA's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $142.48 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a fifty day moving average of $135.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $127.63. The stock has a market cap of $228.58 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during 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 15.33%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 41.90%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 over the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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