Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 8,284 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Sanctuary Advisors LLC reduced its Morgan Stanley stake by 5.0% in the first quarter, selling 8,284 shares and ending with 156,416 shares valued at about $25.7 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted strong second-quarter results, with EPS of $3.46 beating estimates and revenue of $21.35 billion also topping forecasts; revenue rose 27.1% year over year.
• The company boosted returns to shareholders by authorizing a $20 billion share buyback and raising its quarterly dividend 15% to $1.15 per share.

Sanctuary Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 156,416 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,284 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,741,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MS. Cornerstone Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 2,707 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $445,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Camden National Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Camden National Bank now owns 2,884 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Adell Harriman & Carpenter Inc. now owns 33,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 16,040 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,640,000 after purchasing an additional 684 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 49.8% in the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 33,720 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,549,000 after purchasing an additional 11,210 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Key Morgan Stanley News

Here are the key news stories impacting Morgan Stanley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Equities trading and investment banking both came in strong, helping drive the earnings beat and record profit.
• Positive Sentiment: Wealth management and investment management also posted solid growth, reinforcing the quality of the quarter and the durability of the franchise.
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised its quarterly dividend by 15%, which signals management confidence in future cash generation.
• Positive Sentiment: Client assets topped $10 trillion, a sign that Morgan Stanley’s wealth platform continues to scale.
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader market sentiment is also helping financial stocks, with cooler inflation data supporting hopes for a friendlier rate backdrop.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several analysts have reiterated constructive views on MS and peers after strong banking-sector earnings.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 14,690 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.24, for a total value of $2,779,935.60. Following the transaction, the insider owned 365,802 shares in the company, valued at approximately $69,224,370.48. The trade was a 3.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 11,118 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.75, for a total transaction of $2,120,758.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 169,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,313,622.25. This represents a 6.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of MS stock opened at $228.52 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $360.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $210.69 and a 200-day moving average of $188.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.52. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $135.26 and a 1-year high of $232.25.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The financial services provider reported $3.46 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.89 by $0.57. The company had revenue of $21.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.67 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 17.70% and a net margin of 14.65%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 27.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 11.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, June 24th that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 5.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $183.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $211.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $194.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Citizens Jmp reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Thursday, April 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.20.

About Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley NYSE: MS is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1935 by Henry S. Morgan and Harold Stanley, the company provides a broad range of investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services to corporations, governments, institutions and individual investors. Leadership has been guided by a senior executive team and board of directors; James P. Gorman has served as the company's chief executive and chairman in recent years.

The firm's primary business activities are organized around three principal businesses: Institutional Securities, Wealth Management and Investment Management.

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