Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) is Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s 9th Largest Position

Key Points

• Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. has reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 0.5%, now owning 618,209 shares valued at approximately $72 million.
• Morgan Stanley recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.00 per share, representing a yield of 2.79%.
• The company initiated a $20 billion stock buyback program, indicating management's belief that its shares are undervalued.

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 618,209 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 2,868 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley makes up 3.6% of Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.'s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $72,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 7,705 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $969,000 after buying an additional 2,272 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,889,322 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $363,246,000 after buying an additional 47,221 shares in the last quarter. Mosaic Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Mosaic Financial Group LLC now owns 2,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tradewinds LLC. boosted its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Tradewinds LLC. now owns 60,918 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $8,343,000 after buying an additional 3,104 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $130.00 target price (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 1.7%

MS stock traded down $2.48 on Thursday, hitting $142.46. 5,522,960 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,323,620. Morgan Stanley has a twelve month low of $90.94 and a twelve month high of $145.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business's fifty day moving average is $136.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS 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 15.33%. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 earnings per share. Morgan Stanley's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 41.90%.

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

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total transaction of $2,531,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 136,407 shares in the company, valued at $19,181,552.34. The trade was a 11.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 188,949 shares of company stock valued at $25,737,084 over the last quarter. 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.