Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Trims Position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 60.5%, selling 4,188 shares, leaving it with 2,738 shares valued at $319,000.
• Morgan Stanley's recent earnings report showed a profit of $2.13 per share, surpassing analyst estimates and reflecting an 11.8% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a $20 billion share repurchase plan, indicating management's belief that the stock is currently undervalued.

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 60.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,738 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,188 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This represents a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

NYSE:MS traded down $3.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $139.09. The stock had a trading volume of 6,678,496 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,401,069. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.33. 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 one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

About Morgan Stanley

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.