Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Morgan Stanley by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 184,436 shares valued at approximately $25.99 million.
• Insider trades reveal that key figures at Morgan Stanley sold significant shares on July 17th, including Michael A. Pizzi, who sold 18,000 shares, and Daniel A. Simkowitz, who sold 29,000 shares, reflecting an overall decrease in insider ownership.
• Analysts are optimistic about Morgan Stanley, with multiple firms raising their target prices, including UBS and Wells Fargo, with a consensus target price of $154.85 and ratings suggesting a "Moderate Buy" overall.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 31.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 184,436 shares of the financial services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 44,161 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $25,988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $13,740,149,000 after purchasing an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 21.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 17,056,916 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,990,030,000 after buying an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,807,153 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,610,881,000 after buying an additional 403,956 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 13,063,819 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,523,337,000 after buying an additional 219,729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 9,652,910 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,126,205,000 after buying an additional 442,617 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. This represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. 0.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating and a $180.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $154.85.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MS opened at $152.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $242.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.22, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a 12 month low of $94.33 and a 12 month high of $163.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $151.61 and its 200 day moving average is $135.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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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