Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,430 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 12,278 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley comprises about 0.8% of Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Texas Capital Bank Wealth Management Services Inc's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $8,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.
Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley
In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have recently commented on MS shares. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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 reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MS
Morgan Stanley Stock Performance
NYSE:MS opened at $144.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $149.08. The firm has a market cap of $231.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.41, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.32. The business's fifty day moving average is $140.19 and its 200 day moving average is $128.73.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.
Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.
About Morgan Stanley
(
Free Report)
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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