NatWest Group plc Decreases Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• NatWest Group plc has decreased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.6%, leaving it with 50,235 shares valued at approximately $5.86 million.
• Insiders at Morgan Stanley have recently sold 148,149 shares over three months, with notable sales by insiders Daniel A. Simkowitz and Andrew M. Saperstein.
• The company announced a new $20 billion stock buyback program, and recently increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, reflecting strong financial performance.

NatWest Group plc reduced its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,235 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 13,814 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up about 1.7% of NatWest Group plc's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. NatWest Group plc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,861,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during 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 raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during 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. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP raised its stake 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 worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

MS opened at $150.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.33. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $144.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $129.74. 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 12-month low of $94.09 and a 12-month high of $150.75.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

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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