US Asset Management LLC Grows Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

US Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 34.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,832 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,020 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MS. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $120.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. 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. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $133.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 10,068 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.65, for a total value of $1,124,092.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 199,274 shares of the company's stock, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. The trade was a 10.64% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS stock opened at $144.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $90.94 and a 1-year high of $144.56. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $129.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $126.09. The company has a market capitalization of $231.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $17.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.98%. The business's revenue was up 17.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.02 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were paid a $0.925 dividend. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

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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