Trilogy Capital Inc. Buys 6,630 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Key Points

• Trilogy Capital Inc. increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 32.4%, acquiring an additional 6,630 shares, bringing its total holdings to 27,082 shares worth approximately $3.16 million.
• Morgan Stanley posted $2.13 earnings per share for its recent quarter, surpassing expectations, with a revenue of $16.79 billion, an 11.8% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a new $20 billion stock repurchase plan and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.00, representing a yield of 2.81% and a payout ratio of 41.90%.

Trilogy Capital Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 32.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,082 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,630 shares during the quarter. Trilogy Capital Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,160,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Omnia Family Wealth LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Omnia Family Wealth LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 0.5% during the first quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,144,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobsen Capital Management grew its stake in Morgan Stanley by 4.2% during the first quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 2,212 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Morgan Stanley stock opened at $142.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The company has a market capitalization of $228.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.30. The stock's 50 day moving average is $135.15 and its 200 day moving average is $127.63. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.16.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.81%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 188,949 shares of company stock worth $25,737,084 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MS shares. 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. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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