Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases New Shares in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley, purchasing 1,827 shares for approximately $257,000 during the 2nd quarter.
• Several institutional investors, including Vanguard Group and Goldman Sachs, increased their stakes in Morgan Stanley, which is now predominantly owned by hedge funds and institutions at 84.19%.
• Morgan Stanley recently reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, exceeding estimates with a net revenue of $16.79 billion, and announced a $20 billion share buyback plan, reflecting confidence in the company's valuation.

Three Bridge Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $257,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after buying an additional 7,636,547 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE MS opened at $157.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $150.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.53. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The company has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $152.92.

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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