Rathbones Group PLC Has $82.29 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 8.1%, owning 705,313 shares valued at approximately $82.29 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several hedge funds have also made significant adjustments to their positions in Morgan Stanley, with Westpac Banking Corp boosting its stake by 22.8% to own 46,310 shares.
• Morgan Stanley announced a new stock repurchase program authorizing the buyback of up to $20 billion in shares, indicating the board's belief that its stock is undervalued.

Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 8.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 705,313 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 52,778 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $82,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westpac Banking Corp boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 22.8% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 46,310 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,403,000 after purchasing an additional 8,601 shares during the last quarter. Tlwm boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Rossmore Private Capital boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Rossmore Private Capital now owns 12,837 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,498,000 after purchasing an additional 939 shares during the last quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Trajan Wealth LLC now owns 45,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,295,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $38,265,000 after buying an additional 117,615 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 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. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MS shares. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $143.87 on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $93.54 and a 12 month high of $145.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $138.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $128.44. The company has a market cap of $229.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock 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 purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.