Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Key Points

• The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 2.6%, owning 6,981,382 shares after selling 183,456 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Morgan Stanley announced a $20 billion stock buyback program, allowing the repurchase of up to 8.9% of its stock, which indicates that the board believes the stock is undervalued.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenue rising by 11.8% year-over-year to $16.79 billion.

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 2.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,981,382 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 183,456 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 0.8% of The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company's portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.44% of Morgan Stanley worth $814,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the insider 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. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last quarter. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MS traded down $1.58 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $148.90. 5,328,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,547,504. The company has a market cap of $237.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $94.09 and a twelve month high of $150.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm's revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

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.