Madison Asset Management LLC Has $18.12 Million Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 155,334 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 11,372 shares during the period. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $18,123,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Omnia Family Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $143.00. 3,462,907 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,791,441. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The company has a market cap of $229.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The company's 50 day moving average price is $135.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $127.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.