U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 15,097 Shares of Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 53.5%, selling 15,097 shares and holding 13,140 shares valued at approximately $1.85 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently raised its quarterly dividend from $0.93 to $1.00, representing an annualized payout of $4.00 and a yield of 2.5%.
• The company’s Board of Directors has authorized a $20 billion share repurchase plan, indicating a belief that the stock is undervalued.

U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 53.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,140 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 15,097 shares during the quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 111.0% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 50.0% in the first quarter. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MS stock opened at $160.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $256.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.33. Morgan Stanley has a 12-month low of $94.33 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $147.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $132.13.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The company's revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 45.30%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total value of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This trade represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 price objective (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.92.

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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