Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in Morgan Stanley $MS

Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 11.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,506 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley accounts for about 1.3% of Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Trifecta Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $7,857,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,610,881,000 after acquiring an additional 403,956 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,523,337,000 after acquiring an additional 219,729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the first 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 valued at $1,126,205,000 after purchasing an additional 442,617 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $155.63 on Thursday. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The company's fifty day moving average price is $151.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.18. 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 capitalization of $248.44 billion, a PE ratio of 17.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.32.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MS shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $171.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley 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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