Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Purchased by Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC

Key Points

• Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5%, holding a total of 252,876 shares worth approximately $35.6 million as of the latest quarter.
• Recent insider sales at Morgan Stanley included Charles A. Smith selling 20,000 shares and Eric F. Grossman selling 12,000 shares, indicating a decrease in their holdings.
• Morgan Stanley's Board approved a $20 billion share buyback plan and announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, reflecting confidence in its valuation.

Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 252,876 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,102 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up about 2.1% of Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $35,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 58.5% in the 2nd quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 252 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $160.13 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $255.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.33 and a 1 year high of $163.98. The company's fifty day moving average is $148.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

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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