Venture Visionary Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Morgan Stanley $MS

Key Points

• Venture Visionary Partners LLC has reduced its stake in Morgan Stanley by 10.5%, now holding 20,969 shares valued at approximately $2.45 million.
• Morgan Stanley's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $2.13, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenue rising 11.8% year-over-year to $16.79 billion.
• The company's Board of Directors initiated a $20 billion share buyback plan, indicating confidence in the stock's value.

Venture Visionary Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 10.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,969 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,472 shares during the quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC's holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,446,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MS. Meridian Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Morgan Stanley by 34.3% during the 1st quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC now owns 23,869 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,785,000 after buying an additional 6,092 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $57,000. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 55.9% during the first quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 327,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,265,000 after purchasing an additional 117,615 shares during the period. Tlwm boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.8% in the first quarter. Tlwm now owns 13,863 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 75.0% in the first quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 62,469 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,288,000 after purchasing an additional 26,763 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In related news, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total transaction of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 128,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,988,234.22. This trade represents a 16.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares in the company, valued at $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MS shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One research 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock traded up $3.8940 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $147.9340. 6,759,549 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,598,055. The business has a fifty day moving average of $141.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.99. The company has a market capitalization of $236.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 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 1 year low of $94.09 and a 1 year high of $149.08.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

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.