Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Holdings Lowered by True North Advisors LLC

Key Points

• True North Advisors LLC has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 14.6%, leaving it with 24,423 shares valued at approximately $2.85 million as of the latest quarter.
• Morgan Stanley has reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $2.13, surpassing estimates by $0.15 and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 11.8%.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.00 per share, reflecting a 2.8% dividend yield, and initiated a stock repurchase plan allowing for $20 billion in buybacks.

True North Advisors LLC lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 14.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,423 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 4,172 shares during the quarter. True North Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Omnia Family Wealth LLC increased its position 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 last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 3,638 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Insight Inv LLC grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Insight Inv LLC now owns 18,378 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,144,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Vivaldi Capital Management LP now owns 5,096 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of MS traded up $3.38 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $147.26. 7,111,360 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,753,181. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $138.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.44. The company has a market cap of $235.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.68, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.09 and a 52-week high of $148.23.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MS. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. 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.com, Morgan Stanley currently has a consensus 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.