Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Stock Holdings Lifted by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 83.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,467 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,210 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,338,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth 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, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS opened at $140.80 on Monday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16. The company has a market capitalization of $225.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley 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.

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