IFM Investors Pty Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 248,431 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 20,982 shares during the quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $28,984,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 71,365 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,972,000 after acquiring an additional 5,038 shares during the last quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,285 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $539,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 57.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 941,053 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $118,309,000 after acquiring an additional 345,261 shares during the period. Finally, Souders Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $314,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $1.64 during trading on Friday, hitting $144.50. 3,974,691 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,680,902. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $129.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $125.93. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $144.56. The company has a market cap of $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.02 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 43.43%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total value of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.