Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC Sells 1,832 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 43.8%, selling 1,832 shares in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 2,354 shares valued at $275,000.
• Morgan Stanley's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing estimates and reflecting a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8% to $16.79 billion.
• The company has announced plans for a stock buyback of up to $20 billion, indicating management believes its stock is currently undervalued.

Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC lowered its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 43.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,354 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,832 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $275,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Donoghue Forlines LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.9% in the first quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 12,758 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,488,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,675,000. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 88,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,359,000 after acquiring an additional 6,843 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,016 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,402,000 after acquiring an additional 460 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. 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. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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 report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $143.23 on Friday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $93.54 and a 52-week high of $145.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.24 and a 200-day moving average of $128.46. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley 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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