Morgan Stanley $MS Stock Holdings Lowered by OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp

Key Points

• OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.2%, now holding 75,716 shares valued at approximately $8.83 million.
• Morgan Stanley announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00, an increase from the previous $0.93, reflecting a 2.7% yield.
• Financial analysts remain optimistic, with several firms raising their price targets, reflecting an average target price of $138.25 for Morgan Stanley shares.

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,716 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,725 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE MS traded down $2.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $147.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,031,893 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,527,010. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $150.75. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $143.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $129.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $235.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Morgan Stanley

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.