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Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 16,089 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

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Key Points

  • Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.2%, now holding 239,375 shares valued at approximately $27.93 million.
  • Analysts have mostly rated Morgan Stanley as a "hold," with a consensus price target of $138.25 and some revisions including Wells Fargo's adjustment of its price objective to $145.00.
  • Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, reflecting a 7.5% increase from the previous dividend, and will initiate a $20 billion stock repurchase plan indicating confidence in the company's valuation.
  • Want stock alerts on Morgan Stanley? Get 5 Weeks of MarketBeat All Access for $5. Get My Stock Alerts.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 239,375 shares of the financial services provider's stock after buying an additional 16,089 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $27,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Morgan Stanley

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 2.7%

MS traded down $3.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $144.55. 4,985,473 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,890,343. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $230.75 billion, a PE ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The stock's 50-day moving average is $139.93 and its 200 day moving average is $128.68. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.09 and a 12 month high of $149.08.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

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