Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Cuts Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 20.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,001 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,828 shares during the quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,283,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 110,132,798 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,845,895,000 after acquiring an additional 696,646 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.9% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,910,200,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert H. Herz sold 800 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.32, for a total transaction of $95,456.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,760 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,545,403.20. This trade represents a 0.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS traded up $1.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $143.97. 5,373,574 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,962,769. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $90.94 and a 12-month high of $145.16. The company's 50-day moving average is $132.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market cap of $230.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MS. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $136.69.

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.