SMART Wealth LLC Invests $241,000 in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

SMART Wealth LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,062 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $241,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $144.50 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $144.56. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $231.82 billion, a PE ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.02 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were given a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total transaction 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 position. 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 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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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