Main Street Research LLC Invests $15.69 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Main Street Research LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 134,444 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $15,686,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,845,895,000 after purchasing an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after acquiring an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,910,200,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.13 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $142.26. 559,056 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,677,301. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $90.94 and a 1 year high of $145.16. The firm has a market cap of $228.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $130.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.37.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.60%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on MS shares. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $136.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

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