Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Lessened by Greenleaf Trust

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1%, holding 28,715 shares valued at approximately $4,045,000 after selling 2,520 shares in the second quarter.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a $20.00 billion share buyback plan indicating the board's belief that the stock is undervalued, alongside a dividend increase to $1.00 per share.
• The company's stock performance shows a 12-month revenue growth of 11.8%, with a reported EPS of $2.13 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.

Greenleaf Trust lowered its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,520 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $4,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the second quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.5% in the second quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 5,022 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $707,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 3,250 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Lantz Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 4.7% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $161.05 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $149.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.56. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a market cap of $257.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $142.00.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.