Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc Sells 1,905 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 52.3%, selling 1,905 shares to hold 1,740 shares valued at $245,000.
• Morgan Stanley reported a $2.13 EPS for its latest quarter, exceeding expectations, along with a revenue of $16.79 billion, an increase of 11.8% year-over-year.
• The company has approved a $20 billion share buyback program as an indication of confidence in its undervalued stock and declared a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share.

Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc decreased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 52.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,740 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 1,905 shares during the period. Richard P Slaughter Associates Inc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McLean Asset Management Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. McLean Asset Management Corp now owns 3,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Insight Inv LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.0%

MS stock opened at $156.47 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $249.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $157.76. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $145.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $130.50. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. Morgan Stanley's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price 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 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.

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