U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 30.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 28,237 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,526 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,294,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $143.76 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $230.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.87, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.16. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $130.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.27.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.43%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Morgan Stanley news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 96,760 shares in the company, valued at $11,545,403.20. The trade was a 0.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock worth $6,019,548 in the last three months. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $133.62.
View Our Latest Stock Analysis on MS
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report).
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