Morgan Stanley $MS Holdings Boosted by Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $5,509,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ascent Group LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 10,381 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,509 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 19,736 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766 shares in the last quarter. River Street Advisors LLC grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. River Street Advisors LLC now owns 21,161 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,981,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Morgan Stanley by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 168,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,728,000 after purchasing an additional 20,975 shares in the last quarter. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

Shares of MS opened at $157.40 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $251.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.32. Morgan Stanley has a one year low of $94.33 and a one year high of $163.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.30, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $150.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.43.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $16.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a net margin of 13.06% and a return on equity of 15.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program 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 programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Insider Activity at Morgan Stanley

In other Morgan Stanley news, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,729,231.70. This represents a 14.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sharon Yeshaya sold 25,583 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.81, for a total value of $3,576,759.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 128,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,988,234.22. This represents a 16.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MS shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded shares of Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $145.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Morgan Stanley from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $149.15.

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.