Nuveen LLC Invests $767.51 Million in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment in Morgan Stanley, acquiring 6,578,439 shares valued at approximately $767.5 million, representing about 0.41% of the company.
• Morgan Stanley reported a quarterly EPS of $2.13, surpassing estimates, with revenues reaching $16.79 billion, indicating an 11.8% year-over-year increase.
• The company has initiated a stock repurchase plan authorizing the repurchase of up to $20 billion in shares, signaling potential undervaluation according to its board of directors.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,578,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $767,506,000. Nuveen LLC owned about 0.41% of Morgan Stanley as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MS. Omnia Family Wealth LLC raised its position 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 valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the fourth 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 grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the first 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. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MS traded up $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $147.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,541,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,745,274. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $94.09 and a fifty-two week high of $149.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.74, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $138.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.57. 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 (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 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in 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 a sign that the company's leadership 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 issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.30%.

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. The trade was a 16.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.