Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $38.59 Million Stake in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 5.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,787 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $38,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. IAG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the first quarter worth $27,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $30,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of MS traded up $1.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $142.72. The stock had a trading volume of 5,491,882 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,677,448. Morgan Stanley has a fifty-two week low of $90.94 and a fifty-two week high of $142.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $127.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. The firm has a market cap of $228.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $2.60 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.21 by $0.39. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $17.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.02 EPS. The company's revenue was up 17.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a dividend of $0.925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $3.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. Morgan Stanley's dividend payout ratio is 43.43%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to purchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MS. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $133.62.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

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 transaction of $1,124,092.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 199,274 shares in the company, valued at $22,248,942.10. The trade was a 4.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $4,800,000.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 335,765 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $40,291,800. This represents a 10.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,868 shares of company stock valued at $6,019,548. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company's stock.

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.