Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Shares Purchased by Invesco Ltd.

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.7% during the first quarter, owning 8,959,754 shares valued at over $1 billion.
• Morgan Stanley recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, up from $0.93, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.8%.
• Analysts have varying ratings on Morgan Stanley's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,959,754 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 65,845 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned about 0.56% of Morgan Stanley worth $1,045,334,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $57,000. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,288,000 after acquiring an additional 26,763 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 162,269 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $20,400,000 after acquiring an additional 42,743 shares during the period. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC now owns 39,921 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,019,000 after acquiring an additional 21,090 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Inc. OK lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Inc. OK now owns 503,118 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $58,699,000 after acquiring an additional 11,332 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $0.85 on Thursday, hitting $148.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,188,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,095,026. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $149.08. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.79. The company has a market capitalization of $237.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

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.