Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.9%, owning a total of 19,511 shares worth approximately $2.75 million after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares in Q2.
• Institutional investors collectively own 84.19% of Morgan Stanley's stock, with Vanguard Group leading with over 117 million shares valued at approximately $13.74 billion.
• Several analysts have raised their price targets for Morgan Stanley shares, with Goldman Sachs increasing its target from $145 to $164, reflecting a generally positive outlook on the company.

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 21.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,511 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,502 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in 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 valued at $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after purchasing an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after purchasing an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $154.85.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total transaction of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. 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 three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of MS opened at $155.29 on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.33 and a 1-year high of $163.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $152.19 and a 200 day moving average of $136.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $247.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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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