Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

Key Points

• The New York State Teachers Retirement System reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in Q2, retaining approximately 1,065,312 shares valued at $150 million.
• Several analysts have recently increased their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs raising it from $145.00 to $164.00 and Wells Fargo from $145.00 to $165.00.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, payable on November 14th, with a dividend yield of 2.5%.

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,065,312 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 79,313 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.07% of Morgan Stanley worth $150,060,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 111.0% in the 1st quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. RMG Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 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 purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $161.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $152.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.38. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.33 and a twelve month high of $166.77. The company has a market capitalization of $258.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $18.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.42 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 18.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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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