Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Decreased by Hosking Partners LLP

Key Points

• Hosking Partners LLP has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 13.7%, selling 30,561 shares, resulting in holdings worth $22,545,000.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, indicating a 2.8% yield for shareholders.
• Analysts have shown mixed sentiments with nine hold ratings and some upgrades, peaking at a target price of $160.00 from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.

Hosking Partners LLP reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 13.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 193,238 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 30,561 shares during the quarter. Hosking Partners LLP's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $22,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 120,742 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,180,000 after buying an additional 25,529 shares during the period. Bank of Hawaii lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Hawaii now owns 4,949 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $622,000 after buying an additional 625 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 6,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $799,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,109 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $139,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.46. 3,361,728 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,730,491. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $138.92 and a 200 day moving average of $128.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $149.08. The company has a market cap of $235.39 billion, a PE ratio of 16.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.