Assetmark Inc. lessened its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 14.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,625 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 26,529 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.
View Our Latest Report on Morgan Stanley
Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley
In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084 over the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Morgan Stanley Price Performance
NYSE MS traded up $0.81 on Wednesday, hitting $144.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,013,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,839,900. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.19. The company has a market capitalization of $231.61 billion, a PE ratio of 16.35, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company's fifty day moving average price is $135.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $127.98. 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 (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, 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 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.90%.
Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
About Morgan Stanley
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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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