Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Acquired by Inspire Trust Co. N.A.

Key Points

• Inspire Trust Co. N.A. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10% in Q1, owning 33,000 shares worth approximately $3.85 million by the end of the reporting period.
• Research analysts have raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley, with Goldman Sachs setting a new target of $136.00 and Wells Fargo increasing theirs to $145.00, indicating positive outlooks for the stock.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 from the previous $0.93 and approved a $20 billion share repurchase plan, signaling confidence in the company's value.

Inspire Trust Co. N.A. grew its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Inspire Trust Co. N.A.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

MS stock opened at $147.83 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $139.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $128.71. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $149.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $235.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.32. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan 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 repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans 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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