Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Purchases 3,540 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 339,545 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $39,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 108.7% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 8,393 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 4,372 shares during the period. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 2,681 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 17,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the period. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Morgan Stanley by 75.2% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 2,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $361,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS stock traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $140.13. The company had a trading volume of 2,953,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,564,790. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $90.94 and a 12 month high of $145.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.30. The firm's fifty day moving average is $134.24 and its 200 day moving average is $127.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. Morgan Stanley's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.82 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Insider Activity

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.