Truvestments Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 441.0% in Q1, reaching a total of 33,454 shares valued at approximately $3.9 million.
• Insiders at Morgan Stanley have sold significant shares recently, with one insider selling 29,000 shares for about $4.09 million, reducing their ownership by 6.77%.
• Morgan Stanley's Board of Directors authorized a $20 billion stock buyback plan, indicating a belief that the company's stock may be undervalued.

Truvestments Capital LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 441.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,454 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,270 shares during the quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $3,903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Preservation Advisors LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $417,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 2.7% during the first quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,531 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $646,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 41.3% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 25,478 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,973,000 after acquiring an additional 7,451 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 28.3% during the first quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 126,809 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $14,795,000 after acquiring an additional 27,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quadcap Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Morgan Stanley by 25.2% during the first quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,985 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 2,819 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of MS traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $150.50. The stock had a trading volume of 3,627,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,494,344. 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $143.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $240.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $94.09 and a 1-year high of $150.75.

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. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has approved a stock 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 reacquire up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on MS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target 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 upped their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, 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. One investment 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total value of $6,141,499.02. Following the transaction, the insider owned 294,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.