Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Sells 69,650 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.1%, now owning 1,078,434 shares valued at approximately $125.8 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.93 to $1.00 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.7% and a payout ratio of 45.3%.
• The company approved a $20 billion share repurchase program, allowing the buyback of up to 8.9% of its stock, indicating the board's belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,078,434 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 69,650 shares during the quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $125,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

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

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $1.90 during trading on Thursday, hitting $150.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,953,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,177,914. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $144.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $150.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $240.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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.