Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC Raises Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,774 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,958 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up approximately 1.8% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 696,646 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $1,910,200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. This represents a 4.81% decrease in their position. 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. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.64 on Thursday, hitting $144.50. 3,974,691 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,680,902. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $144.54. The company has a market capitalization of $231.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's 50-day moving average is $129.00 and its 200 day moving average is $125.93.

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

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 43.43%.

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

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.