MGO One Seven LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

MGO One Seven LLC cut its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 12.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,791 shares during the quarter. MGO One Seven LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $2,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Morgan Stanley during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of Morgan Stanley stock opened at $139.09 on Friday. 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’s 50 day moving average price is $136.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.33. The company has a market cap of $223.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $90.94 and a one year high of $145.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.33%. Morgan Stanley’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.82 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 EPS for the current year.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.30%.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, July 1st that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.