Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. Sells 8,572 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 75.3%, holding only 2,814 shares after selling 8,572 shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $396,000.
• Morgan Stanley reported $2.13 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.98, with a revenue of $16.79 billion, thereby showing an 11.8% increase compared to the previous year.
• The firm recently announced a $20 billion share buyback plan, which allows repurchase of up to 8.9% of its stock, indicating that company leadership believes the shares are undervalued.

Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 75.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,814 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 8,572 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $396,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MS. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 50.0% during the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MS opened at $156.60 on Tuesday. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $145.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $130.66. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $158.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market cap of $249.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.33.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.82 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are 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 given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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 shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 12.90% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MS has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

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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