Morgan Stanley $MS Shares Sold by Oakworth Capital Inc.

Oakworth Capital Inc. lowered its position in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,687 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 139 shares during the period. Oakworth Capital Inc.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of MS. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Morgan Stanley by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,185 shares during the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 11.8% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 5,340 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. New Hampshire Trust grew its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 7.9% in the first quarter. New Hampshire Trust now owns 2,364 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Morgan Stanley by 32.4% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 30,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,512,000 after purchasing an additional 7,373 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mechanics Bank Trust Department lifted its position in Morgan Stanley by 24.4% during the first quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 5,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MS. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $142.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew M. Saperstein sold 43,566 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.97, for a total transaction of $6,141,499.02. Following the sale, the insider owned 294,250 shares in the company, valued at $41,480,422.50. This trade represents a 12.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total transaction of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 148,149 shares of company stock valued at $20,841,628. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE MS opened at $160.13 on Monday. Morgan Stanley has a 52-week low of $94.33 and a 52-week high of $163.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $148.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $133.25. The firm has a market cap of $255.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.33.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.06%.The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s dividend payout ratio is 45.30%.

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

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.