Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 9,196 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Plato Investment Management Ltd reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.9% in Q1, selling 9,196 shares and retaining a total of 32,715 shares valued at approximately $3.86 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, reflecting growing institutional interest.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00 per share, representing a 6.1% increase compared to the previous dividend, with an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Plato Investment Management Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,715 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 9,196 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 2.3%

MS opened at $152.22 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $152.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $144.60 and a 200-day moving average of $129.96. The stock has a market cap of $242.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.33. 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 (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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.

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