Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Has $7.69 Million Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 567.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 65,932 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 56,055 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley makes up 0.5% of Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after buying an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after buying an additional 6,744,333 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,112,508 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,774,225,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890,245 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.27. 5,256,567 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,563,364. The business's 50-day moving average price is $134.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $127.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16. The company has a market capitalization of $225.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.90%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Nine equities research 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, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

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.