Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by MAI Capital Management

Key Points

• MAI Capital Management reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.7%, owning 161,388 shares worth approximately $18.83 million after selling 4,396 shares in the first quarter.
• Morgan Stanley's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding forecasts, with revenue hitting $16.79 billion, an increase of 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share from the previous $0.93, reflecting a growing commitment to shareholder returns.

MAI Capital Management lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 161,388 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,396 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and 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 valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target 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. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.3%

Morgan Stanley stock traded up $1.91 during trading on Thursday, reaching $150.44. 2,907,079 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,510,344. The company's 50-day moving average is $143.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $129.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $150.75. The firm has a market cap of $240.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm 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 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.