Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Insider Eric F. Grossman Sells 12,000 Shares

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - Get Free Report) insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.12, for a total value of $1,693,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 186,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

Morgan Stanley stock traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $140.80. 5,572,318 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,614,930. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $127.11. The company has a market cap of $225.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.95, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.30. 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.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.82 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley's payout ratio is presently 43.43%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a report on Monday, April 14th. 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 note on Tuesday, July 8th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $130.00 price target (up previously from $125.00) on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $144.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $136.69.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Morgan Stanley

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $13,740,149,000 after acquiring an additional 7,636,547 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 25,844,753 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,240,089,000 after purchasing an additional 604,024 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 25,561,560 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,213,599,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725,335 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Morgan Stanley by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 21,794,873 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $2,740,051,000 after purchasing an additional 6,744,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 2,989,122 shares during the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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