Insider Selling: Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Sells 18,000 Shares of Stock

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) insider Michael A. Pizzi sold 18,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.62, for a total value of $2,531,160.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 136,407 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,181,552.34. This trade represents a 11.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Trading Down 0.1%

MS stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $140.80. 5,572,318 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,580,971. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $90.94 and a 52-week high of $145.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50 day moving average of $134.24 and a 200-day moving average of $127.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $225.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.82 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is currently 45.30%.

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

Institutional Trading of Morgan Stanley

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at $1,910,200,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 6.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 117,769,345 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,740,051,000 after acquiring an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $767,506,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 21.2% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 2,989,122 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $138.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Bank of America dropped their price target on Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, JMP Securities reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $138.25.

Morgan Stanley Company 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.