Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Decreased by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.0% in the first quarter, resulting in ownership of 407,223 shares worth approximately $47.5 million.
• Morgan Stanley's board authorized a $20 billion stock buyback program, allowing the company to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares, indicating the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company reported earnings of $2.13 per share, exceeding expectations, with quarterly revenue of $16.79 billion, reflecting an 11.8% year-over-year increase.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 407,223 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,435 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $47,511,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $5,629,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 438.7% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 379,786 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $44,310,000 after purchasing an additional 309,286 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 76.4% in the first quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,049 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,754 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 319,314 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 5.9% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 60,273 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,032,000 after acquiring an additional 3,364 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $147.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $235.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.09 and a one year high of $149.08. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% 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 worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued 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 boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

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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