Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Sells 433 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC cut its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 5.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,325 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 433 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MS. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Morgan Stanley during the first quarter worth $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Morgan Stanley by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 264 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Morgan Stanley in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Price Performance

MS stock opened at $139.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $223.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $136.87 and its 200 day moving average is $128.33. 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 has a 52 week low of $90.94 and a 52 week high of $145.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last posted 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. The company 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts predict that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that permits the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 399,105 shares in the company, valued at $56,325,688.65. This represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Eric F. Grossman sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was 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 directly owned 186,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,307,590.40. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Corporate insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $125.00 to $122.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, June 18th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.25.

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.