MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC sold 7,249 shares of Morgan Stanley, reducing its holdings by 2.2% to a total of 322,710 shares valued at $37.65 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Morgan Stanley, with Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs raising their holdings significantly in the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley recently declared a new quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, and announced a share buyback plan allowing for $20 billion in stock repurchases.

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 322,710 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 7,249 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $37,651,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 over the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $148.96. The stock had a trading volume of 4,453,772 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,706,220. The firm's fifty day moving average is $142.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.10. The company has a market capitalization of $237.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $149.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

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.