Maple Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Maple Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.4% during the first quarter, now owning 248,891 shares valued at approximately $29 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, which represents an annualized yield of 2.6%, up from its previous dividend of $0.93.
• The company also initiated a share buyback plan allowing the repurchase of up to $20 billion in shares, indicating management's belief that the stock is undervalued.

Maple Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 248,891 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 16,988 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 2.2% of Maple Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Maple Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $29,038,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup restated 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 upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Down 0.0%

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $156.47. The stock had a trading volume of 4,341,386 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,343,304. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $94.33 and a fifty-two week high of $157.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $145.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $249.78 billion, a PE ratio of 17.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.