Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Hodges Capital Management Inc.

Key Points

• Hodges Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 28.5%, selling 10,948 shares, leaving them with a total of 27,432 shares valued at $3.2 million.
• Insider trading was notable, with Daniel A. Simkowitz and Charles A. Smith both selling a combined total of 49,000 shares on July 17th, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions.
• Analysts have recently raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with the consensus rating being a "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Hodges Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 28.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 10,948 shares during the quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 185.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 368 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% 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 Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MS. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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 raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $156.56 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.31. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $157.77. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $249.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.73, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.33.

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

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a positive change 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 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 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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